Transforming from "smart bed" to "caregiver"

"Smart Bed" Transforms into a "Caregiver" Inside Anhui Hagong Haijier Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., technicians are assembling and debugging smart care beds. Unlike ordinary care beds, this smart care bed not only has common functions such as intelligent lifting and head-to-tail tilting, but also solves the problems of turning over patients in bed and assisting with bowel movements and washing, greatly reducing the labor intensity of nursing staff and patients' family members. "We have integrated the concept of nursing robots into the design of smart care beds and achieved these functions through various intelligent technologies," said Guo Daolin from Anhui Hagong Haijier Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.

"Concealed" "Intimate Toilet"

Data shows that by 2024, the elderly population aged 60 and above in China will reach 310 million, accounting for 22.0% of the total population. "Among them, there are tens of millions of elderly people who are disabled or semi-disabled," said Guo Daolin. The care of this elderly group is a major challenge and a pain point for many hospitals and elderly care institutions. Therefore, since its establishment, the company has been specializing in the research, development, production, and related services of intelligent nursing and rehabilitation equipment.

"The intelligent nursing bed is actually a bed-type nursing robot," Guo Daolin said as he picked up the remote control on the bed. Under his operation, the four folding bed boards in the middle section of the intelligent nursing bed slowly moved, which can assist the elderly to turn over. "As one side of the bed board rises, the middle bed board will fall, pushing the elderly's body to turn over. At this time, the other side of the bed board will automatically rise and approach the elderly's chest," Guo Daolin said. These seemingly simple actions have actually undergone rigorous simulation calculations, conforming to the principles of ergonomics and making the elderly's turning process more comfortable.

Moreover, this intelligent nursing bed boasts a unique feature: it pioneers an embedded smart toilet, enhancing the dignity of life for disabled and semi-disabled elderly individuals.

"For disabled and semi-disabled elderly people who are paralyzed in bed, the most difficult thing is using the toilet, as well as dealing with issues such as odor removal and cleaning," said Guo Daolin as he pressed a button. At this moment, a toilet lifted up and the baffle automatically opened. The edge of the toilet was slightly lower than the bed board, making it convenient for the elderly or patients to use the toilet while lying down. The baffle was mainly to prevent fecal splashes, ensuring greater hygiene. After using the toilet, the smart toilet also had functions such as warm water rinsing, warm air drying, and ozone sterilization. "The water required for these functions is supplied by the water storage tank below the smart nursing bed. There is also a sewage tank. After using the toilet, nursing staff can take out the sewage tank for cleaning."

"Let the elderly move more freely"

In the company's assembly workshop, rows of smart care beds are waiting to be shipped. The reporter learned that after years of research and development and adjustments, this smart care bed has been upgraded to the eighth generation. Not only that, the elderly care bed developed by the company is currently in the small-batch trial production stage. "The elderly care bed can be said to be a simplified version of the smart care bed," said Guo Daolin. Although the smart care bed has powerful functions, it is more applicable to hospitals, rehabilitation centers, elderly care institutions, etc. "The price of the smart care bed is relatively high, and coupled with its heavy weight and large size, it cannot be entered through residential elevators or household entrance doors, and can only be dismantled and transported."

Guo Daolin said that the elderly care bed is about the same size as an ordinary single bed, and the most important thing is that it can be folded for easy transportation and movement. The price is about a few thousand yuan, which most families can afford.

"This is an elderly care bed that is being assembled. After folding it, it resembles a larger wheelchair, allowing the elderly to move around at home while seated on the bed," said Guo Daolin. To cater to the elderly's comfort, after the bed is raised, the sides of the bed board at the back will fold inward, "wrapping" around the elderly's upper body. There is also a pedal at the foot that can be adjusted to a suitable position according to the elderly's height.

"Over the years, our products have gradually matured," said Guo Daolin. "Technology never has a ceiling. The company will continue to innovate and develop, creating products with warmth, and safeguarding the dignity and comfort of the elderly.".

Intelligent sensing aids safer walking

Upon entering the exhibition hall, the reporter immediately noticed a black "vest" hanging on a sliding rail, which bore some resemblance to a toddler's learning belt.

"This 'vest' is part of the weight-reducing gait training system. Look, it's also connected to a suspension rod, motor head, and track," said Liu Dongmei, General Manager of Anhui Harbin Institute of Technology Peugeot Medical Health Industry Co., Ltd. This system mainly has two functions, "It can assist disabled, semi-disabled elderly people, or critically ill patients with bed transfers, and can also be used for lower limb rehabilitation training."

It is understood that the weight-loss gait training system was launched on the market in 2024 and obtained the first Class II medical device registration certificate for such products in China. Currently, a hospital in Fuyang City has introduced this training system.

"According to the needs of hospitals and elderly care institutions, the track can be designed into different specifications and forms such as straight track, circular track, curved track, cross track, and H-shaped track, to cover as many activity areas as possible," said Liu Dongmei. For elderly people and other patients with lower limb dysfunction who need rehabilitation, they only need to wear the training "vest", and the system can perceive the changes in the patient's gait and center of gravity in real time, perform dynamic compensation for weight reduction and restraint, and achieve real-time dynamic weight reduction and intelligent following for the patient to ensure patient safety. "Whether it is forward or backward, the system will provide a corresponding force to assist walking."

Not only that, if the system senses a sudden acceleration or change in displacement, it will immediately "apply the brakes" and tighten the strap in the corresponding direction. "This is very similar to the working principle of car seatbelts, which can protect the patient's training safety."

One-click lifting and lowering for easier gait correction

The weight-reducing gait training system is just one of the many representative products of the company. Also exhibited in the showroom are assisted walking trainers, lower limb exoskeleton robots, and upper and lower limb active and passive motion rehabilitation trainers. Currently, the company's products cover fields such as medical robots, brain-computer interfaces, humanoid robots, and intelligent medical equipment.

"Some elderly people need to have their gait corrected, and they can use an assisted walking trainer," Liu Dongmei explained. This trainer can be raised and lowered with one button, and it features a split-leg design to prevent the risk of tripping when in use. Additionally, it has an anti-backwards damping design, ensuring that elderly people can only move forward and not backwards during training, greatly enhancing safety.

Next to the walking aid trainer is its mobile terminal evaluation system. When used by the elderly, the system collects gait data such as step length and step width, and can intelligently generate an evaluation report and rehabilitation suggestions in just one minute, facilitating doctors to optimize treatment plans.

Reporters learned that besides developing and producing various rehabilitation equipment, the company also provides smart rehabilitation care solutions. "Whether it's rehabilitation medical institutions or nursing homes, a comprehensive and reasonable rehabilitation care plan is necessary," said Liu Dongmei. The company can utilize these intelligent rehabilitation equipment and cloud control systems to carry out an integrated design of smart rehabilitation care. Not long ago, the company's "smart rehabilitation care" was successfully selected into the "Smart Healthy Elderly Care Products and Services Promotion Catalogue (2024 Edition)" announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the National Health Commission.

Xin'an Evening News Anhui Network Da Wan News Reporters Zhao Lin and Yao Yiming