Newton. Pascal. Archimedes. Boyle. Heavy hitters in science, without a doubt, but what do they have to do with static air technology? Everything!

Their scientific principles regarding immersion, buoyancy, and heat transfer — just to name a few — are the blueprints for modern-day reactive air support surfaces using static air technology. 

According to Pascal, with a fluid at rest in a closed container, a pressure change in one part is transmitted without loss to every portion of the fluid and to the walls of the container. In other words, displacement! In order to provide true pressure injury prevention, pressure must be displaced over the bony prominences. And static air provides the ideal medium necessary to achieve proper pressure redistribution.

Archimedes’ Law of Buoyancy, in layman’s terms, is simply flotation. Any object immersed in a fluid will be lighter by an amount equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. Archimedes’ Law of Buoyancy is at work when a person floats in the crystal blue ocean off the coast of Fiji. And when a patient is placed on a properly inflated reactive air surface, the Law of Buoyancy is demonstrated again. It’s really that simple. 

Boyle’s Law illustrates the compression and expansion of gas at a constant temperature. In a closed container, the pressure and volume of gas (or air) have an inverse relationship. Take a bicycle tire, for instance. When the tire is inflated, the air molecules are compressed, becoming packed tightly together. As the pressure increases within the tire, the air eventually expands, and the tire inflates. The same holds true for reactive air surfaces. In a closed container, air molecules compress, eventually causing the surface to inflate. When a body is placed on the inflated overlay, the air compresses and displaces around the patient resulting in immersion.

Keeping patients cool, dry, and comfortable is achieved first by understanding Newton’s Law of Cooling & Heat Transfer and his Second Law of Thermodynamics. 

The point is, technology that adheres to the rules of physics isn’t old; it’s genius!  And support surfaces that address buoyancy, immersion, and heat transfer are ideal for early pressure injury intervention. Safe and simple measures to prevent pressure injury formation taken from the moment of entry will help ensure that patients don’t endure undue skin damage. Good patient care doesn’t have to be complicated. 

Specialty beds are certainly sleek and high-tech, but how big is the learning curve, particularly with increases in staff turnover? Reactive support surfaces using static air technology are easy, clinically effective and have some impressive ‘celebrity endorsements’ from scientific titans of yore. 

Choose a support surface rooted in science and versatile enough to remain steadfast to the patient’s care plan from entry to discharge.

CLICK HERE to find the ideal surface solution to best meet the patient’s needs.

https://protonstalk.com/thermal-properties-of-matter/newtons-law

https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/second-law-entropy

https://www.britannica.com/science/Pascals-principle

https://www.britannica.com/science/Archimedes-principle

https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/boyles-law