1. BRANDS

          1） Ours: Our patent-pending EZ-Clean™ Vinyl Cough Pillows

          2）Competitors: Any cloth cough pillows on the market

 

   2. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

1） Pieces Included

• Ours: two pieces, an inner pillow, and an outer cover work hand in hand but are still removable from each other

• Competitors: one bulky piece

• Compared: two-removable-pieces VS one-bulky-piece

2) Surface Material

• Ours: reinforced antimicrobial vinyl

• Competitors: cloth

• Comparison #1 Waterproof: Yes for ours; No, competitors are porous

• Comparison #2 Smooth: Yes for ours; No, competitors are rough or uneven

• Comparison #3 Durable: Yes for ours; No, competitors are is much less durable

• Comparison #4 Soft and Comfortable: Yes for both

• Comparison #5 Removable: Yes for ours; Not applicable for competitors.

3) Stuffing Material

• Ours: microbeads filling

• Competitors: polyester fiberfill

• Compared: When hugged, the microbeads filling are able to move inside the inner pillow to contour to a patient’s body. This contouring provides maximum comfort and more effective recovery support. The competitor pillow’s fiberfill does not move.

4) Opening System

• Ours: yes, a reliable opening system is in place.

• Competitors: not applicable

• Notes: Built on the back of the cover, a zipper-controlled opening is concealed under an attractive protective flap. This allows the user or hospital staff member to remove the cover from the inner pillow, making the vinyl cough pillow more user friendly as well as helping improve patient safety. Particularly, medical facilities have the option to handle (wash, purchase, move, store) the outer covers and inner pillows separately.

5) Summary

• Ours: A waterproof vinyl cover wraps the microbeads filled inner pillow.  The two pieces work hand in hand but are removable from each other through an innovative opening

• Competitors: It’s simply a cloth pillowcase filled with polyester fiberfill.

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3. CLEANING

1) Leak

• Ours: leak-proof. Any liquid including blood or other bodily fluids can not penetrate through the waterproof vinyl cover and leak inside the inner pillow. All mess including liquids has to stay on the surface. The inner pillow stays dry and virus free.

• Competitors: messes can leak inside. Any mess or liquid is sure to seep inside or run between the stitches before anyone can react. Outside germs are likely to breed on the surface and inside the fiberfill which can be dangerous for any patient, especially for the weak patients whose immune system may be temporarily compromised.

2) Inner Pillow Gets Wet

• Ours: No. The outer cover may get temporarily wet and messy but the inner pillow stays dry.

• Competitors: the whole pillow could easily get wet (messy or contaminated), inside and out.

3) Mess Removal

• Ours: wipe it from the smooth surface with a piece of cloth or tissue and then spray with disinfectant for prompt reuse. It’s a breeze to clean.

• Competitors: It is definitely unsafe to let the patient continue using a messy pillow. You can’t wipe the mess that has already leaked inside. You can’t even wipe the mess that is sticky on the top, the liquid seeping into the weaves, or the mess that has sunken between the weaves or soaked into the threads. It is a bad idea to put the messy cloth pillow aside and let it dry by itself for later reuse because germs can breed inside the pillow very quickly.  The cloth pillows must be sent to the laundry room (so backup pillows are required) for washing and drying, and then redistributed to the patient rooms. This time-consuming process is extremely inefficient compared to ours which is a breeze. Oftentimes the messy cloth pillows are trashed after just a few uses because of how time-consuming they are to wash, clean, and move throughout the facility.

4) Reusable

• Ours: It is safe to reuse our pillows immediately after being wiped and disinfected in the patient room. No backup pillow is needed.

• Competitors: The messy cough pillow should only be reused after being washed and dried. More than one backup pillow is needed for a single patient, particularly during the early stages of recovery from a vital operation. These weak patients usually have a hard time controlling the messes they cause, which can often involve bodily fluids including the blood, vomit, and mucus.

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4. WASHING AND DRYING

1) What to Wash

• Ours: the removable outer covers. The inner pillows are not recommended to be washed since they are well protected by the waterproof covers and stay dry and clean.

• Competitors: the whole bulky pillow

2) The Sizing

• Ours: 0.25” tall (outer cover)

• Competitors: 5” tall (the whole pillow)

• Compared: 20 stacked covers are for 13” tall vs stack of 20 cloth pillows is for 8’ (8 feet) tall. The difference is over 7 times.

3) The Efficiency

• Ours: 20 covers per load in a regular washing machine

• Competitors: 2 to 3 bulky pillows per load

• Compare: Washing outer covers is approximately 7-10 times faster than washing cloth pillows.

4) Damage to Items

• Ours: Stays intact for at least 15 washing and drying cycles

• Competitors: The fiberfill filling usually gets hardened and stacked in the 3rd washing cycle. A hardened or stacked pillow loses its supportive functionality and must, therefore, be retired from service

5) Ink Fading

Typically a cough pillow will be printed with a facility logo and signed by nurses, doctors, family, and friends.

• Ours: the ink stays fresh and clear for years even with washing and drying.

• Competitors: the ink fades quickly and disappears over time.

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5. PRINT AND BRANDING: 

A facility’s logo, educational diagram or general message can be printed on a pillow by the factory before the pillow is used by a patient.

1) Clean Crispy

• Ours: Printing is very clear and colorful. The surface is smooth, shiny, and very ink friendly.

• Competitors: Print is less clear. The surface is uneven, rough, and soft. The ink has a hard time sinking into the threads without running.

2) Stay Clear for Long

• Ours: Yes. The ink stays fresh and clear for years. The smooth surface does not absorb the ink.

• Competitors: No. The ink sinks into the weaves quickly and gets faded over time.

3) Withstand Washing and Drying

• Ours: Yes.

• Competitors: Becomes damaged, does not stand up to washing as well.

4) Promotional Impact

• Ours: Bright logos can last for a long time, offering increased brand awareness and a wide impact. People are proud to keep and use our pillows, providing a longer period of brand exposure. Many medical facilities like to use our pillows for their branding promotion because of the print-friendly surface.

• Competitors: Dim logo, often fades soon, could lead to poor brand representation. The interest and desire to keep a cloth pillow is much weak which means the period of brand exposure is shorter.

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6. SIGN AND WRITE

As an important aid to a patient who has undergone a vital operation, doctors, nurses, patient’s family, and friends can all send the patient a lot of warmth, courage, love, faith, and hope by singing their names, writing a message or drawing a small, memorable design on the pillow. This emotional and mental support can be a key contributor to any patient’s ability and desire to stay positive during the operation and recovery, the hardest journey of one's life.

1) Write with a Regular Marker

• Ours: It’s very easy to write on the smooth vinyl cover with a regular marker.

• Competitor: It’s very hard to write on an uneven fabric surface.

2) Ink Show Clearly

• Ours: Yes, the ink shows clear and vibrant.

• Competitors: Much less than ours.

3) Stay Fresh for Long

• Ours: Yes. The ink stays fresh and clear for years to come. The smooth surface does not absorb the ink over time.

• Competitors: No. The ink soaks into the threads quickly, fades fast, and disappears soon.

4) Withstand Washing and Drying

• Ours: Yes.

• Competitors: Much less.

5) Mental and Emotional Support

• Our vinyl cough pillows provide a stronger emotional comfort and mental support during the operation and recovery when the patient sees the clear and more legible (not fuzzy) signatures, names and messages on our vinyl cover.

• Competitors: Names and signatures are often unclear and hard to read, emotional messages can be lost.

6) Long-Term Heartfelt Keepsake

When patients check out, most facilities let the patients take the cough pillow with them. A cough pillow printed with a logo, containing signatures, names, or message holds a lot of memories of the lifesaving care and experience and can easily become the patient’s keepsake.  

• Ours: Yes.  Patients love to keep our durable pillows that are designed to last and easy to clean. The print even stays fresh for years to come. For these reasons, many hospital gift stores like to carry our cough pillows as a popular stock item for surgical and non-surgical patients.

• Competitors: Patients also like to keep cloth cough pillows but are often disappointed when they don’t last, are hard to clean, and become faded sooner than expected. No hospital gift store will continue carrying any cloth pillows after discovering our EZ-Clean™ Vinyl Cough Pillows.

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7. COST-EFFECTIVE

1） MSRP

• Ours: 20% less expensive. Yes, we can offer the lowest price since we are a manufacturer and our designs are innovative and original.

• Competitors: 20% more expensive.

2） Service Life

• Ours: Designed to last. Particularly, the waterproof vinyl cover is very durable, able to withstand disinfectant spray, washing, and drying. It sufficiently protects the inner pillow from being contaminated and extends the service life of the entire cough pillow.  

• Competitors: A good solution for a shorter period of time. Unfortunately, the cloth surface is much less durable, difficult to clean and the whole pillows are vulnerable to damage when washed or dried.

       ​    3） Time Consumption

• Ours: Timesaving, very convenient to use.

• Competitors: Time-consuming to wash, dry, transport, and clean.

• Compare cleaning:

  1. Ours: Wipe it onsite and disinfect for prompt reuse

  2. Competitors: Must be sent to the laundry room to be washed and dried before reuse.

• Compare washing and drying:

  1. Ours: 20 pieces (vinyl covers) per load.

  2. Competitors: 2 to 3 pieces (bulky pillows) per load, 7-10 times slower.

4） Back-up Pillow

• Ours: No backup pillow is needed since a messy pillow can be cleaned onsite for prompt reuse.

• Competitors: One patient needs one or more backup pillows since a messy pillow cannot be reused before it is washed and dried in the laundry room. A patient in the early recovery stage could have an accident at any time and will need several backup cloth pillows.

• Cost: Our pillows prevent facilities from having to purchase back-up pillows.

• Space: Patient rooms are jammed full. A couple of bulky pillows occupy precious space/storage room. If no space is available onsite, the nurse has to spend time running back and forth to retrieve backup pillows.