Now, 'exercise beds' to help hospitalised patients recover

London, August 27 : A U.S. expert says that patients can be encouraged to exercise with the help of a hospital bed that folds down at one end to place its occupant onto a treadmill.

Charles Filipi, a surgeon at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, has even created a design for such a bed.

He thinks that "exercise beds" can prove quite worthwhile for obese patients who are required to work out as part of their treatment.

He says that these beds can do away with the involvement of numerous staff to get the obese into a standing position, and to find a treadmill for them to work out.

Filipi suggests that the treadmill be made into the hospital bed, reports New Scientist magazine.

According to his design, the treadmill will sit in a vertical position at the end of the bed when not in use.

When the patient needs to exercise, the bed slowly tips into the vertical position, planting the treadmill onto the ground ready to be used.

A patient can easily access the treadmill with minimal assistance from anyone else, says Filipi.

ANI