Medical bed with integrated toilet: design considerations and utilization by a bedridden patient

There have been many attempts to develop a better toileting aid for bedridden patients to replace conventional incontinence products such as absorbent products, indwelling urinary catheters, and bedpans, although without much success. Automatic urine and faeces disposal systems that detect, transport, and store urine and faeces temporarily for future disposal have been developed and commercialized in South Korea and Japan, but they have not been well-received by patients and carers owing to their inconvenience. For better excretion care, we developed a toilet integrated medical bed that is easy to use for both patients and carers. The toilet basin was incorporated onto the pelvis plate of the bed, and the fluid waste in the toilet basin was collected into a plastic bag through a curved waste storage tube attached to the toilet basin. The toilet-integrated medical electric bed was easy to use for an 84-year-old bedridden male patient. He was able to urinate and defaecate without the help of a carer. Independent urination and defaecation helped restore his dignity considerably. This medical bed with an embedded toilet could be a promising solution for excretion care of bedridden patients.