Dolphin FIS Standard Therapy Systems

Dolphin Step-Deck V-Matt System (88-Inch Contoured Surface)

The V-Matt is the Dolphin FIS surface built for step-deck bed frames. It is 35 inches wide, 88 inches long and 10 inches deep — six inches longer than every other Dolphin mattress — because a step-deck frame is not a flat platform and a surface for it cannot be a flat rectangle. Dolphin, Dolphin FIS, Fluid Immersion Simulation and AutoVector are registered trademarks of Joerns Healthcare LLC. We are an authorized Joerns dealer.

If you are not sure whether you have a step-deck frame, look at the deck with the mattress off. A step-deck bed has sections that sit at different levels rather than in one continuous plane, so that when the head is raised or the knees break, the surface follows a stepped rather than a flat path. Put a standard 82-inch flat therapy mattress on that deck and it bridges the steps, sits proud in places and leaves gaps in others. Joerns’ entrapment warning is not a formality here: the risk of entrapment arises when equipment is placed on bed frames that leave gaps of even a few inches between the therapy mattress and the head panel, foot panel and bed or side rails, and the equipment is not to be used when such gaps are present.

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Schematic

Two different mechanisms, drawn side by side

Alternating pressure

Discrete cells, inflating and deflating in cycle

Fluid immersion simulation

One continuous envelope, sensor-driven

Alternating pressure. An air pump inflates and deflates separate cells in sequence, so the areas carrying the load keep changing on a repeating cycle. At any one moment the body is resting on the cells that happen to be inflated. This is the mechanism behind the Medicare Group 2 powered surfaces, alongside low air loss.

Fluid immersion simulation. There is no cycle and no sequence of cells. Joerns describes the system as automatically measuring a patient’s anthropometric characteristics as they engage the surface and producing an individualized immersion profile that creates a near neutrally buoyant state, with the AutoVector® control module monitoring the support surface more than 100 times per second.

Both panels are schematics. Neither is to scale, and neither is a cutaway or a drawing of any real product. A Dolphin FIS is also not an air-fluidized bed — that is a different device again, one that circulates warm air through silicone-coated ceramic beads.

Rent monthly Buy outright

Rent by the month

Call for a quote

The monthly rate depends on the model we match to the patient. Ask the order desk and we will quote it before you order.

Billed monthly for as long as the surface is in use
Return it when the need ends, with no long-term commitment
One surface matched to the patient and the care plan

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Buy outright

Call for a quote

Purchase pricing depends on the configuration and the quantity. Ask the order desk for a written quote.

One-time price, with no monthly billing
The surface stays with the facility or the household
Warranty terms are the manufacturer’s; ask us to confirm them before you order
Often eligible for HSA or FSA funds with a Letter of Medical Necessity; your plan administrator decides.

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Models we carry

Joerns Healthcare Dolphin® V-Matt Step-Deck Therapy Mattress

Shipped by freight, with the lane quoted before you order
Cleaned and function-tested before it ships
Itemized invoices for plan and facility claims

Who this rental is for, and when it is needed

This model is chosen by the frame, not by the person. Facilities and homes that already have a step-deck articulating bed — often because the frame was selected for a specific articulation, a specific low height, or an existing patient handling setup — need a therapy surface built for that deck if they want fluid immersion on it at all. The clinical indications are the Dolphin line’s indications: Joerns describes the technology as highly effective for the prevention and healing of pressure injuries through Stage 4, as well as for treating patients with post-operative flaps and grafts, and says it may also be used for patients whose medical condition precludes turning and repositioning, or where these interventions may be contraindicated, and for patients with spinal cord injury once the acute injury has been stabilized and they have been cleared by a physician.

The second group is anyone whose care involves a lot of movement at the edge of the bed. Joerns fits the V-Matt with a feature it calls CairEdge, which in Joerns’ words wraps around the bed frame edge at the point of ingress and egress, providing extra padding. That is a real answer to a real problem: on a deep air surface the edge is where a person sits to transfer, where a caregiver leans in, and where a forearm or a heel ends up resting against a frame rail for an hour without anyone noticing.

As with every configuration on this site, which surface a person is placed on is a decision for the wound care nurse, the physician or the discharge planner. Joerns is explicit that its clinical indications are guidelines and should be taken only as recommendations for consideration during individual patient assessment by the clinician. Our job is to make the surface fit the frame it is going on and to tell you plainly when it does not.

Situations we set this up for

A step-deck articulating bed frame already in the room or the facility
A standard 82-inch surface that bridges or gaps on the existing deck
Care that involves frequent movement at the edge of the bed
A pressure injury through stage 4, or a post-operative flap or graft
A person whose condition makes turning and repositioning difficult
A stabilized spinal cord injury with physician clearance in place
A facility standardizing a therapy surface across step-deck frames

Models and specifications

Figures below are the manufacturer's published specifications. We confirm the exact unit and its ratings with you before it ships.

V-Matt Step-Deck at a glance

Published specifications for Dolphin Step-Deck V-Matt System
Sleep surface	35″ × 88″
Surface depth	10″
Weight capacity	Up to 500 lb
Therapy type	Autofirm; returns to the previous setting after approximately 15 minutes
Power and battery	Sealed 12 VDC rechargeable; approximately 12 hours
Alarms	Not published
HSA and FSA	Often eligible with a Letter of Medical Necessity; your plan administrator decides

Figures are the manufacturer’s published specifications. Anything shown as "Not published" is a figure we have not confirmed in writing; ask us and we will check the spec sheet for the exact unit before it ships.

Joerns Healthcare

Dolphin® V-Matt Step-Deck Therapy Mattress

The V-Matt measures 35 inches wide by 88 inches long by 10 inches deep — 89 by 224 by 25 cm — and Joerns rates it at 500 lb. That capacity is the mattress figure only. Joerns footnotes every capacity in the range with the same qualification: total weight must not exceed the bed frame manufacturer’s specified load capacity. A step-deck frame has its own published limit and it is the one that governs.

Two features belong to V-Matt models and to nothing else in the Dolphin line. The first is the air-filled safety cell: Joerns documents it for V-Matt therapy mattress models only, as an air-filled safety cell to protect patients from bottoming out in the event of a power failure that exceeds battery life for step-deck bed frames. Note that it is air-filled, where the Low Profile’s equivalent is foam, and note what both are for — what happens after roughly twelve hours without mains power, not something that operates during normal therapy. The second is CairEdge, which Joerns describes as wrapping around the bed frame edge at the point of ingress and egress to provide extra padding.

Everything else is the Dolphin system as it works on the other surfaces. The AutoVector control unit — 11.5 by 12.5 by 6 inches, 10 lb — monitors the support surface, in Joerns’ words, more than 100 times per second for any patient movement or surface changes, and automatically measures the specific anthropometric characteristics of the individual patient as they engage the support surface, building an individualized immersion profile that Joerns says creates a near neutrally buoyant state. There is, again in Joerns’ wording, no need for direct intervention or manual entry to adjust comfort settings. Autofirm is there for transfers and care procedures and returns to the previous setting after approximately 15 minutes. A quick CPR deflation valve is fitted.

The cover is the same smooth nylon Joerns uses across the line, described as having low friction and low shear properties, breathable and moisture vapour permeable, allowing air to circulate beneath the pad and wicking moisture away. Joerns warrants the mattress for two years and the control unit for two years.

Dimensions: 35" (89 cm) W × 88" (224 cm) L × 10" (25 cm) D
Weight capacity: 500 lb — mattress capacity only; the step-deck frame has its own rated limit
Safety cell: Air-filled, V-Matt models only; bottom-out protection when a power failure exceeds battery life
Edge: CairEdge wraps the bed frame edge at the point of ingress/egress for extra padding
Control unit: AutoVector®, 11.5" W × 12.5" H × 6" D, 10 lb (4.5 kg)
Sensing rate: Joerns: monitors the support surface more than 100 times per second
Battery backup: Sealed 12 VDC rechargeable; approximately 12 hours
Care mode: Autofirm; returns to the previous setting after approximately 15 minutes
Emergency: Quick CPR deflation valve
Electrical: 115/230 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 0.34/0.21 A
Operating conditions: 50–95 °F (10–35 °C), 30–75% RH non-condensing, IPX2
Warranty: Two years mattress, two years control unit (Joerns)

What makes it work at home

Built for a stepped deck

Eighty-eight inches long and contoured for step-deck frames, where an 82-inch flat surface bridges the steps and leaves gaps. Fit is the whole reason this model exists.

CairEdge at the point of transfer

Joerns describes CairEdge as wrapping around the bed frame edge at the point of ingress and egress, providing extra padding. It covers the edge people actually sit on and lean against.

Air-filled safety cell — V-Matt only

Joerns fits an air-filled safety cell to V-Matt models only, to protect patients from bottoming out in the event of a power failure that exceeds battery life on step-deck bed frames. The foam version belongs to Low Profile models.

The same automatic therapy

The AutoVector control module monitors the support surface more than 100 times per second, in Joerns’ wording, and re-optimizes as the person moves. No cycle to set, no weight dial.

Approximately 12 hours of battery

A sealed 12 VDC rechargeable battery carries the control unit approximately 12 hours through a disconnection or an outage, and recharges when power returns. Past that, the air-filled cell is what is underneath.

Autofirm for care at the bedside

Firm the surface for a transfer or a dressing change; Joerns states it returns to the previous setting after approximately 15 minutes, so therapy resumes without anyone remembering to switch it back.

Delivery and setup

Nothing ships until we know the frame. For a V-Matt order we want the bed’s make and model, the deck length and the step configuration, because this surface is chosen for its fit and a mismatch here is not a comfort issue. Joerns states the equipment is not to be used where gaps of even a few inches are present between the therapy mattress and the head panel, foot panel and bed or side rails. On a stepped deck those gaps can appear at the break points rather than at the ends, which is exactly where they are hardest to see once bedding is on. If the frame turns out not to be a step-deck after all, we will say so and quote the right surface instead.

At setup the surface goes on with the deck flat, then the bed is articulated through its full range with the hoses in place, to confirm nothing is pinched and no gap opens at a step when the head or knee section moves. The AutoVector unit hangs at the foot and goes to a wall outlet rather than a power strip. The caregiver walkthrough covers the CPR valve, the Autofirm timeout, the battery and the Storage Switch that Joerns says must be in the Battery On position for the battery to recharge, and the hand check Joerns instructs after any comfort adjustment — confirming by hand that the patient is not touching the mattress support platform.

How in-home setup and pickup work

Before we arrive

Identify the frame: make, model, deck length and whether it is genuinely step-deck.
Check the frame’s own rated load before relying on the 500 lb mattress figure.
Clear enough floor space to articulate the bed fully during setup, not just to walk past it.
Keep a dedicated wall outlet free at the foot of the bed; avoid switched outlets and strips.
Plan the hose route around the step break points, clear of moving sections.
Keep the room within the 50–95 °F operating range Joerns publishes.
Have the discharge summary or care plan available when we set up.

Choosing the right one

The V-Matt is not a preference, it is a fit. If the frame is a step-deck, this is the Dolphin surface for it and the 82-inch models are not substitutes. If the frame is a standard flat-deck homecare or hospital bed, the V-Matt is the wrong shape and its 88-inch length will overhang. That single question settles the choice more often than anything about the person in the bed.

Where there is a genuine decision, it is upstream: whether to keep the step-deck frame at all. Some households inherit one from a facility discharge or a previous rental without needing its articulation. If the frame is going to change, choose the surface after the frame, not before — on a standard flat deck the 35-inch standard mattress, the 8-inch Low Profile with its foam safety cell, the 42-inch width for room across, or the 48-inch bariatric surface above 500 lb are the options, and each of them is a better fit on a flat deck than a contoured 88-inch surface would be.

Paying for the rental

Step-deck frames often arrive with an institutional history, and people reasonably assume the surface on top of one is billable in the same way. It is not. There is no HCPCS code for fluid immersion simulation, and a Dolphin FIS is not an air-fluidized bed — E0194 is defined by warm filtered air forced through silicone-coated ceramic beads, a different mechanism entirely, and Joerns’ own claim is only that the system delivers many of the best elements of air-fluidized therapy. We do not bill Medicare and we do not submit claims on your behalf. Where a covered route genuinely exists it sits one tier down, in Group 2 — E0277, E0371, E0372 and E0373 — whose criteria are documented ulcer history on the trunk or pelvis, or a recent flap or graft, with a Standard Written Order reaching the supplier before any claim. Ask the clinician about that before you ask us about this.

For facilities and agencies, this is a capital or lease purchase made on the facility’s own terms, and the surface being separable from the frame is usually the point: a 22 lb class therapy mattress and a 10 lb control unit can move between step-deck frames as need shifts. For a household, the private routes are the ordinary ones. A clinician-written Letter of Medical Necessity tying a therapy surface to a diagnosed pressure injury is the mechanism that brings a dual-purpose item like a mattress into HSA or FSA territory, and the plan administrator decides the claim, not the seller. We supply an itemised receipt suited to substantiation and we do not write the letter. Veterans’ health networks purchase and lease through their own contracting channels rather than Medicare DME rules; we sell and lease into that route and can explain the process we actually run.

Insurance and funding guides

Mistakes we help people avoid

Assuming any articulating bed is a step-deck: Most homecare beds articulate on a flat deck. A step-deck has sections at different levels. Look at the bare deck with the mattress off, or send us a photograph, before ordering an 88-inch surface.
Fitting it with the bed flat and never articulating it: Gaps on a stepped deck open at the break points when the head or knees move, not when the bed is flat. Run the bed through its range at setup, with bedding off, and look.
Treating CairEdge as a rail substitute: It is extra padding at the bed frame edge at the point of ingress and egress, in Joerns’ words. It is not a bolster, not a fall-prevention device and not a reason to change what the care team decided about rails.
Crediting this model with the foam safety cell: The V-Matt’s cell is air-filled. Foam belongs to Low Profile models. Both are bottom-out protection for a power failure that outlasts the battery, and neither is a feature of the standard mattress.

When something else is the better choice

If the bed is a standard flat-deck frame, this is the wrong surface and no amount of arranging will make an 88-inch contoured mattress belong on an 82-inch flat deck. Beyond fit: if no clinician has specified an advanced therapy surface, ask before you buy one, and ask specifically whether a covered Group 2 powered surface is appropriate first — that is the tier Medicare’s criteria are written around, and if it fits the situation it may cost the household nothing. You should also know the payer picture in a home setting. Aetna’s Clinical Policy Bulletin 0430 lists fluid immersion simulation among items it considers experimental, investigational or unproven, names the Dolphin FIS system, and describes it as institutional equipment that is inappropriate for home use, on the reasoning that evidence of effectiveness in the home setting is insufficient. That position exists in writing and you should weigh it. Finally, this surface changes what a person is lying on. It does not replace the repositioning schedule, the skin checks, the nutrition plan or the wound care, and if there is no one available to carry those out, the equipment is not what is missing.

Urgent order

Discharge tomorrow? Tell us before you commit to a date.

Send the order desk the patient’s weight, the therapy the care team has specified and the ship-to address. We will come back to you with what is in stock, what the freight lane looks like and what can realistically arrive in time, before you promise anything to the family.

Weight and height of the patient
Therapy the care team has specified
Ship-to address and dock or door access
Date the surface has to be in the room

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V-Matt Step-Deck: common questions

What is a step-deck bed frame?

A step-deck frame has deck sections sitting at different levels rather than in one continuous plane, so the surface follows a stepped path when the head or knee section articulates. With the mattress off you can see the steps. Standard homecare beds usually have a flat deck, and a flat 82-inch therapy surface is the right match for those.

Why is the V-Matt 88 inches long?

Because a stepped deck needs more surface to follow its contour than a flat one of the same bed length. Joerns lists the V-Matt at 35 inches wide by 88 inches long by 10 inches deep, where the standard and low-profile surfaces are 82 inches. The extra length is taken up by the deck, not by giving the person a longer bed.

What is CairEdge?

Joerns describes CairEdge as a feature that wraps around the bed frame edge at the point of ingress and egress, providing extra padding. It is documented for V-Matt models. It pads the edge people sit on and lean against during transfers; it is not a rail, a bolster or a fall-prevention device.

Does the V-Matt have a safety cell?

Yes, an air-filled one. Joerns documents it for V-Matt therapy mattress models only, as an air-filled safety cell to protect patients from bottoming out in the event of a power failure that exceeds battery life for step-deck bed frames. The foam version belongs to Low Profile models, and the standard 10-inch mattress has neither.

Can I put a standard Dolphin mattress on a step-deck bed?

We would not supply one for that. Joerns states the risk of entrapment can arise when equipment is placed on bed frames that leave gaps of even a few inches between the therapy mattress and the head panel, foot panel and bed or side rails, and that the equipment is not to be used when such gaps are present. On a stepped deck a flat surface bridges the steps and opens exactly those gaps when the bed articulates.

How much weight does the V-Matt take?

Joerns rates it at 500 lb. That is the mattress capacity only. Joerns attaches the same footnote to every capacity figure in the range: total weight must not exceed the bed frame manufacturer’s specified load capacity. Check the step-deck frame’s own rating, because it is frequently the lower of the two numbers.

Does the control unit differ from the other Dolphin systems?

No. The V-Matt runs on the same AutoVector control unit, 11.5 by 12.5 by 6 inches and 10 lb, with the same behavior Joerns describes across the line: monitoring the support surface more than 100 times per second, no need for direct intervention or manual entry to adjust comfort settings, Autofirm returning to the previous setting after approximately 15 minutes, and approximately 12 hours of battery backup.

What does a V-Matt system cost?

There is no published band for this configuration, so it is quoted. Rental and outright purchase are both possible. Tell us the frame make and model when you ask, because on this surface the fit question and the price question are the same conversation.

Rent or buy the V-Matt Step-Deck

Tell us who it is for, the date it has to be in the room and where it ships to. We will confirm the model, the price both ways and the freight lane before you commit.

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