Patient support system including expandable patient support and control assembly

1. A patient support system for use on a litter of a patient support apparatus, the patient support system comprising:

an expandable patient support including:

a main patient support section having opposing left and right sides,

a left auxiliary patient support section having one or more left inner bladders extending longitudinally along the left side of the main patient support section and one or more left outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more left inner bladders, the one or more left outer bladders being expandable away from the one or more left inner bladders to expand an overall width of the expandable patient support from a first width to a second width, and

a right auxiliary patient support section having one or more right inner bladders extending longitudinally along the right side of the main patient support section and one or more right outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more right inner bladders; and

a control assembly connectable to the expandable patient support, the control assembly including:

an inflator to be operatively coupled to the one or more left inner bladders and the one or more left outer bladders; and

a controller coupled to the inflator, wherein the controller is configured to provide pressure in the one or more left inner bladders at a first value when the expandable patient support is at the first width and the controller is configured to reduce the pressure in the one or more left inner bladders to a second value, lower than the first value, in response to inflating the one or more left outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the second width.

2. The patient support system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to inflate the one or more left outer bladders to a pressure having a third value, higher than the second value, when expanding the expandable patient support to the second width.

3. The patient support system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more right outer bladders are expandable away from the one or more right inner bladders to expand an overall width of the expandable patient support from the second width to a third width.

4. The patient support system of claim 3 , wherein the inflator is to be operatively coupled to the one or more right inner bladders and the one or more right outer bladders.

5. The patient support system of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to provide pressure in the one or more right inner bladders at the first value when the expandable patient support is at the second width and the controller is configured to reduce the pressure in the one or more right inner bladders to the second value, in response to inflating the one or more right outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the third width.

6. The patient support system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to inflate the one or more right outer bladders to a pressure at the third value when expanding the expandable patient support to the third width.

7. The patient support system of claim 6 , wherein the main patient support section includes a first plurality of bladders in fluid communication with each other and a second plurality of bladders in fluid communication with each other, the first plurality of bladders being inflatable separately from the second plurality of bladders.

8. The patient support system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to provide pressures in the first plurality of bladders and the second plurality of bladders at values less than the third value when the expandable patient support is at the second width or the third width.

9. The patient support system of claim 8 , wherein the second value is an average of the pressures in the first plurality of bladders and the second plurality of bladders.

10. The patient support system of claim 1 , wherein the first value is from 50 to 80 mmHg and the second value is from 5 to 50 mmHg.

11. A method for reconfiguring a patient support system for use on a litter of a patient support apparatus, the patient support system including an expandable patient support having a main patient support section and left and right auxiliary patient support sections, and a control assembly including an inflator to expand the left and right auxiliary patient support sections, the method comprising the steps of:

providing pressure in one or more left inner bladders of the left auxiliary patient support section at a first value when the expandable patient support is at a first width, the one or more left inner bladders extending longitudinally along a left side of the main patient support section;

inflating one or more left outer bladders of the left auxiliary patient support section to expand the expandable patient support from the first width to a second width, the one or more left outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more left inner bladders; and

reducing the pressure in the one or more left inner bladders to a second value, lower than the first value, in response to inflating the one or more left outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the second width.

12. The method of claim 11 , comprising inflating the one or more left outer bladders to a pressure having a third value, higher than the second value, when expanding the expandable patient support to the second width.

13. The method of claim 12 , comprising providing pressure in one or more right inner bladders of the right auxiliary patient support section at the first value when expanding the expandable patient support to the second width, the one or more right inner bladders extending longitudinally along a right side of the main patient support section with one or more right outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more right inner bladders, the one or more right outer bladders being expandable away from the one or more right inner bladders to expand an overall width of the expandable patient support from the second width to a third width.

14. The method of claim 13 , comprising inflating the one or more right outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the third width.

15. The method of claim 14 , comprising reducing the pressure in the one or more right inner bladders to the second value, in response to inflating the one or more right outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the third width.