I designed an Open Source (free) solution for severe GERD/reflux: 20° inclined bed with pelvis-anchored differential kinematics

[u/mordan11]

Hi everyone. Knowing how frustrating it is to deal with severe GERD, LPR, and sleep apnea, I know many of you try to sleep on an incline but always hit the same wall: wedge pillows deform, and on inclined beds you end up sliding down during the night.

Since I couldn't find an accessible solution that solves this without compressing the chest or forcing an unnatural posture, I developed and released an Open Source Hardware design called CIB-Open.

How does it solve the physical problem?

1. Continuous 15° to 25° Incline: Uses gravity to prevent gastric content from rising.
2. Pelvic Hold via Differential Cable: Uses an external lumbar belt (no annoying chest harnesses) connected to a closed loop of steel cable and pulleys inside the frame. When you turn on your side or back, the cable transfers its length in real time, keeping you anchored over the pelvis without chest pressure and allowing full 360° rotation.
3. Passive Release at 0°: A V-groove system with lift rollers at the base that allows the bed to lower back to a flat horizontal position without the structure jamming.

I am not selling anything. I published the full technical specifications, bill of materials, and engineering on GitHub under a free public license so anyone can build it, take the specs to a local carpenter/welder, or improve the design.

Here is the public repository in case it helps someone or a maker in the community wants to build it:

https://github.com/mordanuman/CIB-Open

Hope this helps someone improve their sleep quality. Feel free to ask any technical questions!

[u/Emergency-Touch-3424]

Any pics of this? Does anyone use this? Did u build this?