Innovative Features Care

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2.1.

Völker healthcare beds. Everything that you expect from healthcare beds with added value.

Since Völker has been building healthcare beds, the company’s management, developers, customer advisers and expert consultants have contin­uously placed themselves in the position of residents and caregivers. We asked ourselves: What do we have to do to make residents’ environments with regard to beds as comfortable as possible?

How do healthcare beds have to be constructed to reduce the caregivers’ work with residents, to facilitate individual care measures and maybe even speed them up so that people can focus more on the individual. All participants placed themselves in the position of healthcare facility personnel, anal yzed the circumstances and then developed what was possible to implement innovations, that with this multi­faceted approach are only avail able from Völker healthcare beds.

1. Völker low height healthcare bed with trapezoid undercar­riage, which allows the bed to be lowered to approx. 9 inches from the floor and raised to a safe working height.

2. Völker Vis­a­Vis healthcare bed where the undercarriage and the lying surface separate so that a real sitting position is achieved when the foot section is slid to the side.

Fig. on the right:All the functions are illustrated with a Völker healthcare bedmodel 3082. The modular construction concept allows the most important and innovative features be included in all Völker healthcare beds.

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All occupant controls can be operated by using the hand control (lock­out key included)

Wide feet prevent unwanted bed movement

Head and leg section of lying sur­face are adjusted electrically

Nurse control (optional) includes trendelenberg and additional hand control lock­out

Fully synchronized height adjustment

All four lying surface sections can be removed for easy cleaning

Casters extend for bed transport at the push of a button

Sockets for trapeeze bar, IV poles and

accessory lighting on both sides of the head end of

the bed

CPR quick release of the back section

(optional)

Four stable height adjustable legs

Accessory mounting track integrated into

both sides of bed

Telescoping assist rails provide two

levels of assist and protection

Mattress compensation

Full access lengthwise and crosswise

Völker MiS® Micro­stimulation pressure reduction system integrated into every lying surface

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2.1.

The Völker innovation for addressing pressure ulcer prevention: The Völker Micro­stimulation System MiS® – a standard feature of all Völker beds.

Experts describe pressure ulcers as a national tragedy. According to ExpErtEnstandard dEkubitusprophylaxE [Expert Standard on the Prevention of Pres­sure Ulcer] , up to 30% of residents in healthcare facilities suffer from pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers result in enormous effort, unnecessary costs, endless suffering for the residents and psychological burdens for caregivers and family.

To provide effective support for pressure ulcer prevention, Völker collaborated with Thomashilfen to develop the Völker Micro­stimulation System MiS® as the pressure reduction system to be used in professional care. Völker MiS® maintains and promotes residents’ independent movement through systematic somatic and vestibular stimulation. A principle that is also recommended in the ExpErtEnstandard pflEgE von MEnschEn Mit chronischEn WundEn [Expert Standard for the Care of People with Chronic Wounds]. Völker MiS® is included as standard equipment on all Völker healthcare beds and is an important part of a holistic healthcare approach.

1.–2. The Völker Micro­stimulation System is primarily basedon neuro­scientific foundations. It is implemented via a sup­port system in which individual butterfly springs are coordi­nated with each other so that they continually send out move­ment incentives. Even minimal movements by the resident are transmitted by the Völker MiS® and returned to the body as tactile stimulus. The constant feedback leads to improved body awareness, promotes individual movement and microcircula­tion in the tissue.

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2.1.

The Völker innovation for supporting pressure ulcer therapy: Völker MiS® Activ, the active Micro­stimulation System.

The patented Völker MiS® Activ is an upgrade of the standard MiS® system. This electrically operated pressure reduction system was also developed for professional care in collaboration with Thomashilfen. The individual elements of the Völker MiS® can be upgraded to the Völker MiS® Activ and connected quickly and easily in the same lying surface frame and in the same configuration. MiS® Activ is the right system for immobile residents or for those with pressure ulcers. They help with movement, awareness promotion and pain reduction. Or in cases where awareness limitations are due to underlying neurological diseases.

Its ease of use and portability make Völker MiS® Activ definitely a simple alternative to large­volume alternating pressure systems.

1.–2. The flexible support profiles of the Völker MiS® Activ system are moved electrically by what are called activators.The small raising and lowering movement sends somatic,vestibular and vibratory impulses and stimulates the affected person’s self awareness.The sequence and type of movement of the MiS® Activ systemcan be adjusted to the needs and professional requirements of the resident through a programmable control with a variety of settings.

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2. 3.1.

A completely flexible assist rail system. As much protection as necessary, as much freedom as possible.

The conflict of whether to use protective rails or not has been resolved by the completely flexible assist rail system incorporated into the Völker 3082 bed. This assist rail system offers the complete continuum from rails that are totally hidden away to a system of total protection. The nursing staff can easily choose the level of freedom or protection that is appropriate for any particular resident with Völker’s disappearing height adjustable assist rails at the head or foot end of the bed.

Völker assist rails do not hang on the side of the bed. They disappear below the lying surface when not in use. This means that they have a nice appearance, do not get in the way of lifting devices and will not interfere with the caregiver in their raised or lowered positions.

1.–2. The flexibility of the Völker assist rail system allows for progressive use only as necessary based on the needs of the resident, completely disappearing if not required.

3. For special applications, the assist rails can be converted for full protection with a slide in spacer.

4. Right figure: The unique design of the Völker assist rail system allows it to offer a complete assist rail system and still be in compliance with the dimensional guidelines of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) HBSW (Hospital bed safety workgroup).

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2.1. 1.–2. Völker assist rails are easy to operate and are very strong. They are equipped with a safety lock that stays locked, even with high side pressures. In the case that the assist rails are overloaded, the rails will flex – eliminating the possibility of breaking the guides or the rails.

The second aspect of the assist rail innovation: As much freedom as possible.

Bed assist rails aid those who need assistance getting into or out of the bed. They provide a sense of security as well as indicate the edge of the bed. Traditional full length rails are declining in usage, due to the increased risk of accidents associated with climbing over these rails. Modern assist rails are far less restrictive and allow the nurse aid to more easily tend to the resident, thereby preventing additional strains on the caregiver. Modern assist rails, also reduce the feeling of restraint previously associated with side rails because they can be used incrementally only as needed.

Using the assist rails provides more freedom and mobility for the resident. Raising the head section of the bed, holding the assist rail, pivoting the legs out, all can help to position for standing. If then used in conjunction with the height adjustment of the bed, the assist rails allow the resident (some­times with the help of a caregiver) to stand and walk away from the bed. This also provides the caregiver with an ergonomic advantage over lifting the resident.

The Völker assist rail system fulfills the standards DIN EN 60601­2­38 and IEC 60601­2­52.

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1. 2.

Völker healthcare beds with secure four­leg telescoping undercarriage. An innovation that safely supports active care giving in bed.

Providing care at different working heights requires confidence in the stability of the bed. For this reason, Völker healthcare beds stand firmly on all four legs. The sturdy four­column telescopic undercarriage holds the bed frame absolutely stable and keeps the bed from moving or swaying in any direction even in the event that it is unevenly loaded. Workloads up to 550 lbs are safely handled, even when using Trendelenburg and reverse­Trend­elenburg positioning. A synchronization control continually maintains the desired positioning while raising and lowering the bed.

With these features, all of the requirements for providing active care giving in the Völker healthcare bed are ensured, no matter what height the bed is at.

1. Völker healthcare beds stand on four solid legs. This ensures complete stability.

2. The hidden castors only appear when the correct buttons on the hand control are pushed..

Fig. on the right:The Völker healthcare bed in its highest position. You can easi­ly see how clean the construction is: All the motors are locatedin covered enclosures, all components have the smoothest possible surface so that all the materials used can be easily cleaned and maintained.

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2.1.

The newest Völker innovation: Völker manufactured motors and actuators. Because healthcare products require higher levels of safety.

Motors and actuators, in our opinion, should be a core strength of a manufacturer of electrically operated healthcare beds. And they should meet very high requirements for the utmost safety and reliability as well as require very little maintenance and be easy to repair. For this reason, and in collaboration with porschE EnginEEring, we have developed a bus­based system for the motors in Völker beds, which are used throughout the beds and entire bed line. This system has intensely focused on the safe application of medical products with specifications that far exceed the standards of IEC 60601­2­52 and DIN EN 60601­2­38.

Communication between the individual electrical­mechanical components is monitored by a LIN bus system, which has been specifically designed for the requirements of Völker beds. The safety behind this concept is based on widely differing bus components such as motor controls, power supply, keyboards, etc. that are capable of monitoring themselves independently and as a system. Safety is then maximized by repeatedly testing critical safety parameters that indicate electrical pathways and power levels. If there is a failure or if the values of the parameters are not met, then electricity is cut off and the function is terminated.

1. When looking at the main dual drive motor, you can see how easy it is to change the commonly available high capacity 7.2 Ah batteries.

2. In the Völker healthcare bed, Völker motor­actuators operate both the dual system that moves the 4 part lying surface and the undercarriage with its four telescoping height adjustable legs.

Fig. on the right:The parts photo to the right shows the dual motor system for the lying surface in the center with the undercarriage motor­actuators for the telescoping legs to the left and right

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Simplify maintenance and reduce costs with Völker’s sophistication. The Völker Diagnostic System identifies the issues.

With the development of Völker’s own motor­actuator systems, our technical capabilities have also become more robust. This was made possible by the Völker Diagnostic System (VDS). A gateway is connected to the LIN bus of the Völker bed and to a PC on which the Völker Diagnostic Software is installed. This lets you identify and check all of the defined parameters of the system components and identify any problem. System and mechanical irregularities can be viewed as measurements and electrical curves and in some cases corrected without the need to replace parts. For each bed, all of the configurations for the drive components are recorded. The technical control information is documented in a standardized format. All beds are identified using the serial numbers and the exact replacement parts can be ordered with these numbers. It is possible to update the integrated soft­ware e.g. to provide new bed functions. This allows Völker beds to be continually upgraded to the latest state of technology. All recorded data can be saved and analyzed locally and/or on the Völker web server. Access to the Völker web server is protected by registered passwords.

Of course, it is up to you to decide whether you want to use this added value. But, it is this technology that allows you to have precise documentation of each bed. To do so, you do not have to have Völker Service on site. Your in­house technicians can handle it directly if they are equipped with the VDS. The principle of this service concept is: Help those who help themselves.

The Völker Diagnostic System is an indispensible instrument for the operator to promote preventative maintenance. The bed history is securely saved on the Völker web server and offers complete documentation. Access is possible at any time via theinternet.

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Völker AG · Wullener Feld 79 · 58454 Witten/Germany · Phone +49 2302 96096­0 · Fax +49 2302 96096­16www.voelker.de · info@voelker.de

Every person has a right to be treated with respect and dignity. Especially people in need of care.

We think, develop and manufacture with this in mind.