More than 540,000 Chinese people die from sudden cardiac death each year. The survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is less than 1% in China, which is relatively lower than the other countries. CPR is the most helpful and effective implementation to save cardiac arrest victims, but the implementation of CPR is extremely low, only 4.5% in large and medium-sized cities in China, vs 46-73% in Sweden. My thesis focused on providing a flexible and efficient self-directed CPR learning solution to encourage more laypeople to learn and improve their life-saving skills.
From research, some main problems cause this low rate are that: The lay public has less motivation to join a CPR course because of fewer opportunity, fewer interests, high cost, fast-paced lifestyle, and less awareness. The less qualified full-time instructors, short supply and overworked skilled physicians are other significant barriers to teach quality life-saving skills. Besides, the CPR training equipment, such as manikins, is too expensive and the amount of it far limited for this vast population with an old training mode. Even when the public participates in CPR training, there is no consolidation training during post-training and people have less motivation to update their CPR skills.
The outcome is called CANNE, it provides a self-directed CPR learning experience for the lay public and it consists of two parts:
A corrugated cardboard Basic Life Support (BLS) learning kit that allows laypeople to practice CPR, such as cardiac arrest identification, chest compression and ventilation by themselves. The BLS self-directed application on the smartphone can significantly enhance the learning experience by simulating cardiac arrest scenarios and emergency medical services (EMS), providing real-time feedback of compression and ventilation, as well as encouraging lay people to join a final examination and granting an online BLS certificate.
CANNE provides an ecosystem to motivate laypeople to learn CPR at a low cost. It saves time and medical resources and has a minimal requirement for the learning environment. CANNE raises the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, particularly in China, by addressing the local societal and cultural needs.
Physical therapy is a crucial step in the journey towards functional recovery for amputees. Taking place soon after surgery, physical therapy lasts as long as the wound takes to heal, most often somewhere between four and eight weeks, but then it’s up to the patient to keep up with the road towards functional recovery. Learning that at-home physical therapy regimens hold a 10% compliance rate, designer Sydney Lang created Adapt, an in-home physical therapy equipment smart system specifically for amputees.
Physiotherapists who specialize in amputee rehabilitation help patients through general conditioning exercises, inflammation, and compression issues, as well as possible endurance routines. Following their time spent with the physiotherapists, patients are expected to continue with their workout regimens at home, which Adapt makes easier. Just before leaving the physical therapy office, patients can have their physiotherapists program their Adapt recovery plan so they can move forward with their at-home rehabilitation.
Following in-depth interviews and comprehensive research, Lang learned that guidance, transparency, consistency, and structure are some of the most important factors when it comes to following through with at-home physical therapy. In designing Adapt, Lang understood that the most important parts of functional recovery ranged from motivation and range of motion to strength and alignment. To help with patients’ motivation levels, Adapt includes a motion-tracking camera that visually monitors the progress of patients. To ensure that range of motion exercises are still worked on, the interactive, digital foot mat conditions the patient’s lower body through stepping patterns that simulate the uncertainty of daily movement.
Comprising three essential components, the physical product includes an interactive foot mat, motion-tracking camera, and versatile support bar in order to facilitate familiar physical therapy at home. In addition to the physical product, Adapt has an app compatible with smart devices that introduces Adapt users to a larger community of those on the road towards functional recovery, allowing users to organize, store, and monitor their personal recovery on a public digital domain.
Adapt includes an interactive digital foot mat, support bar, mirror, and motion-tracking camera.
Following patient’s physical therapy sessions, their PTs can program Adapt to continue on towards functional recovery.
“Adapt enables users to take control of their recovery once the structure of physical therapy ends, by tracking progress, and visualizing the road ahead.”
“The digitally interactive mat more effectively prepares amputees with the ability to create randomized patterns which more accurately simulate the uncertainty of daily life.”
“The patient is able to review their exercise plan for the day by watching a tutorial ahead of time to help prevent distractions and mistakes later.”
A motion-tracking camera records the progress of patients to help them, monitor their improvements and trouble spots.
“Through the use of custom plans for each patient, users are able to focus on problem areas in their recovery, bringing recovery times down and more noticeable improvements.”
“The user is able to visualize where their body is in space by focusing on their movements in the mirror while their phone is off to the side.”
Visualizers help to keep patients on track towards functional recovery.
Lang learned that guidance, transparency, consistency, and structure were some important aspects of continuing with at-home physical therapy.
The stress and impact that ICUs can have on the mental health of patients typically result in prolonged hospital stays. Troubling cycles typically ensue as soon as patients experience trauma either before entering the ICU or while they’re being treated. The trauma is usually born from the lack of communication between the patient and medical personnel or general miscommunication. Acknowledging the mental stressors within the ICU, a team of designers created SOVA, an ICU medical aid device that tracks the patient’s health progress and allows the patient to communicate their needs by simply directing their eyes.
Either before, during, or following their visit to the ICU, almost half of the patients who receive medical treatment experience some form of trauma or suffer from mental stressors that make it difficult to communicate their needs. SOVA is a medical device that tracks and registers early signs of physical or mental pain so that medical personnel within the ICU can provide the patient with proper treatment. While physical pain, insomnia, and anxiety are only a few of the stressors in the ICU, SOVA operates as a system to track these stressors for real-time support and treatment.
Comprising three main components, SOVA comes equipped with a doctor’s interface, a patient’s interface, and sensors for the patient to wear and for their interface to register. The sensors work to monitor the patient’s brain activity and sleep patterns, while an integrated camera in the patient’s interface surveils their hospital room. Through integrated eye-tracking software, SOVA allows patients to answer health-related questions and communicate their needs, which ends up displayed on their doctor’s interface. This seamless train of communication allows medical staff to act quickly and help patients out of discomfort and pain, shortening their overall stay.
A curved display screen enhances SOVA’s ergonomic appeal.
The 360° arm structure allows SOVA to turn and meet the patient where they rest.
An integrated camera tracks the visual progress of patients in the ICU.
SOVA comes equipped with speakers and easy-to-grip sides for optimal usability.
Similar to the notifications we’re used to seeing on our smartphones, SOVA sends alerts to the patients that range from future visits to health progress statistics.
Each SOVA unit also comes with a locking feature that keeps the device from turning or unhinging from its position.
Each patient also wears a sensor that tracks brain activity as well as sleeping habits.
The medical staff’s interface receives all communication from the patient’s interface for real-time support and medical treatment.
Each year, an estimated 10 million people in the US take birth control pills. But remembering to take each pill can be challenging, and 80 percent of people miss at least one pill per month. That leads to an estimated one million unplanned pregnancie...
They say necessity is the mother of invention, so if there is one thing that has thrived in this quarantine period, it is medical innovations! There is no alternative for good health, we all know it, but some practices like the cast we use for a fracture are archaic in design. Just because a design provides a solution, it does not mean they can’t be improved and it is these improved designs featured here in the medical and healthcare field that, once implemented, are sure to change the face of caregiving in today’s world.
Literally the size of a quarter, Adam Miklosi’s Dab is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests comfortably on your chest, constantly reading your heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab tries to bridge the gap between medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny yet classy design sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes capture your heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it to be used and reused, while constantly measure one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging via their wireless charging hub), and keep logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting on your chest while you absolutely forget that they’re even there in the first place!
The purME by Ann Song is no ordinary N95 mask. It was designed to be an N95 face-mask that you could carry in your pocket, wear for hours, breathe safely under, and easily reuse for months, if not years. Its form and material of choice are, in fact, directly inspired by silicone respirator mouth-cups that medical personnel use to administer oxygen to people. The silicone construction of the purME allows it to fit all types of faces easily as its soft body conforms to the curves of your face, creating an air-tight seal while feeling comfortable enough to be worn for hours. The silicone body makes the purME easy to reuse as well as disinfect too, and replaceable filters ensure your mask lasts you for years on end.
Designer Natalie Kerres looked at nature for inspiration to come up with a solution and zeroed down on animals that physically protected from threats by skin, shells, or scales. She wanted to design a product that mimicked the natural protection and healing while allowing flexibility – that is how SCALED was born. The goal of her design is to investigate the potential of a controlled motion-limiting structure in preventing hyperextension joint injuries. Usually, with injuries, you may have a cast, a brace, or a crepe bandage you use but that restricts movement and also makes the body in that region stiff as you wait to heal. “Mobility is commonly a trade-off with protection and SCALED, therefore, presents a nature-inspired solution for a flexible protective wearable.” It uses a parametric design that allows the structure to meet a wearer’s exact needs and the restriction in motion can be regulated through set parameters.
Chicago-based startup Cast21, however, has designed a sleeve that fits over any hand. Cast21’s cast takes shape around your hand once it’s filled with a patented gel that hardens over time. Doctors select a sleeve-size based on whether the patient is a child or a fully-grown adult. The sleeve is slipped on, and filled with a patented mixture of resins that become a malleable gel after a while. The doctor can then adjust the gel to perfectly hug the limb, giving it the support it needs. Patients can even choose between gel-colors, opting for combinations and gradients, breaking the stigma that casts need to look horribly clinical. The resins harden through an exothermic reaction, providing soothing heat to the limb as the cast begins to take shape.
Amplify was created by Alice Tuner to give the hearing-impaired demographic an added value that made the hearing aid more than just a medical accessory. “In the ’60s, glasses were aids for a disability. Now, glasses have evolved into ‘eyewear’, a fashion statement, and an extension of your personality. This shift made me question why the main innovation in hearing aid design is developing technology to make them smaller and more hidden,” says the designer on her thought process behind starting the project. Using bone conduction technology, Amplify provides users with high-quality audio for a more comfortable and wholesome sound experience. This technology enables the device to decode sound waves and convert them into vibrations that can be received directly by the Cochlea so the eardrum is never involved. Amplify essentially becomes your eardrum!
There is a worldwide shortage of medical equipment, especially ventilators as traditionally they are expensive and time-consuming to produce at the rate this virus is moving. ODEK’s alternative costs less than USD 300 and it works on an automated mechanism that squeezes the common bag valve mask ventilation devices that are available in hospitals. This device is usually called an Ambu bag and the ApolloBVM can save the hours that healthcare professionals spend on manually pumping bags when there are no ventilators available. An exhausted human cannot pump air for extended periods of time with the precision of a machine, so with this device, it will be a lot easier to assist patients that need help to breathe. The device will also include feedback sensors that help fine-tune the flow of air to the lungs, as well as motors similar to those that power 3D printers for hours on end.
Designed to make one clinical procedure less scary, the Bean thermometer for children comes with a design that feels more like a toy. Designed by Peng Da, the thermometer has an anthropomorphic design, looking like a creature or alien of some sort. Its bulbous features give it a child-friendly appeal, and the range of colors it comes in is a complete deviation from traditional medical apparatuses that are usually white or light-colored. A screen on the back of the Bean’s ‘head’ displays the temperature, while controls on the ‘belly’ allow you to toggle through functions and even switch between temperature units.
Designed by the Division of Industrial Design & Department of Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery, the Bend is a medical finger-splint with a revolutionary design. Fingerbone fractures can be painful, however, dislocations of bones aren’t just about pain, if not treated well, you could lose functionality of that finger for life. The bend makes use of a polymer’s tensile strength, and clever design to provide a medical solution that is not just effective, it’s non-invasive too. Deviating from current medical procedures that require surgery, the Bend just needs a long fingernail. A piece of thread is tied to the fingernail at one end, and the Bend splint at the other. The string is then wound around the splint, so that the finger is pulled into shape again, allowing the bones to align properly.
Aalto is a self-injection device designed for use by patients suffering from a chronic disease that impacts their dexterity. The family of products that make-up Aalto each share the same geometric yet friendly forms that evoke a sense of trust. More significantly, they remove the stigma of medical devices and create a far more approachable product. This element of trust has been introduced to each aspect of the product, from the packaging through to the interface. By having these attributes projected onto each element, a far more considered and harmonized experience has been achieved. This design by Cambridge Consultants is just a beautiful example of a user-centered design.
CPR First Aider by Fang Di, Li Pengcheng & Yu Yuanyi aims at being able to increase those chances. Not only does it help people who don’t know CPR, it helps people who do know CPR to perform it efficiently. The CPR First Aider is an extensive kit that includes a breathing mask that automatically delivers oxygen while assisting the patient to breathe along with a CPR module that has 4 legs and chest straps to ensure stable, sustained and effective pressure to the patient. An LCD screen on the top guides you through the procedure, while also displaying the patient’s stats blood oxygen concentration and electrocardiogram in real time. Designed to fold into a compact device, the CPR First Aider could easily be stored anywhere a fire extinguisher could be placed.
For more marvelous Medical Innovations, check out our first part in the series!
We are all aware of the three basic needs for human survival, while a fourth one is added to the list: medicines. Medical innovations are one of the few things that have the ability to change the world in a single innovation. WHO states that Cardio Vascular Diseases are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause. About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries, and 1.6 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year. The only way to handle these diseases is to improve our existing healthcare practices, focus more on monitoring which in turn will help us be more prepared for everything that comes our way. The designs showcased here today attempt to innovate and improve our existing practices – from the cast applied on a fracture to even motion sickness, these designs will improve our quality of life for the better!
Chicago-based startup Cast21, however, has designed a sleeve that fits over any hand. Cast21’s cast takes shape around your hand once it’s filled with a patented gel that hardens over time. Doctors select a sleeve-size based on whether the patient is a child or a fully-grown adult. The sleeve is slipped on, and filled with a patented mixture of resins that become a malleable gel after a while. The doctor can then adjust the gel to perfectly hug the limb, giving it the support it needs. Patients can even choose between gel-colors, opting for combinations and gradients, breaking the stigma that casts need to look horribly clinical. The resins harden through an exothermic reaction, providing soothing heat to the limb as the cast begins to take shape.
Citroën’s SEETROËN (clever name alert) is quite an ingenious device designed to help create a balance between nausea-inducing experiences, so your brain doesn’t get confused. The quirky-looking glasses (designed to be worn only while traveling) come with four rings on the front and side with a liquid suspended in them. When in a moving vehicle, the liquid moves around too, giving the brain a visual stimulus that helps it understand the way you’re moving. When the car moves from left to right, the liquid in the ring does too, informing your brain of the movement as you watch movies on a screen or read a book. The rings stay on the boundaries of your vision, allowing you to see normally, while the liquid rings on the periphery don’t obstruct your vision.
Literally the size of a quarter, Adam Miklosi’s Dab is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests comfortably on your chest, constantly reading your heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab tries to bridge the gap between medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny yet classy design sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes capture your heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it to be used and reused, while constantly measure one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging via their wireless charging hub), and keep logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting on your chest while you absolutely forget that they’re even there in the first place!
The Kardia is a tiny ECG (or EKG) reader that works in conjunction with your iPhone to give you heart-rate readings. Simple in its design, with just two textured sensor-pads for your fingers, the device takes readings and its partner-app guides you through the process, showing you your current heart rate. Place your fingers on the sensors & in just 30 seconds, you have a medical-grade EKG reading, to be monitored for irregularities, or shared with your doctor. Just like the thermometer became a household medical product, followed by the blood-sugar meter, the Kardia aims at becoming the next household medical device that helps people monitor their heart status and keep a check on their condition.
VanBerlo Agency’s LifeSaver can be mounted on walls at accessible and prominent locations. If someone is suffering from a cardiovascular attack, you simply grab it and press the button for calling 911 below it. So while you perform CPR, the ambulance is on its way! The first instruction provided is to remove the clothes from the chest of the victim. After that, you open the box and remove LifeSaver from it. Place the AED on the chest of the victim, and follow the instructions. OLEDs and touch sensors guide you through the entire process. LifeSaver even helps you with placing the electrodes correctly and guides you regarding the location and rhythm for the chest compressions. Via visual displays and an audio option, LifeSaver gives you critical feedback.
Using a trio of gyroscopic motors mounted within a sleek and futuristic wearable that dramatically wraps around the user’s hands, Tryro counteracts the shakes to stabilize the user’s hands and therefore induce a sense of confidence! Its designer, James Sanchez, recognized the various levels of tremors that an individual can have. To cater to this, a dial that’s located on the user’s wrist allows for adjustment of the gyroscopic motor’s speed! What makes Tryro so unique is the medical aesthetic that it has managed to avoid. Considered details and an attractive form lead to a more desirable product and one which doesn’t carry the stigma of medical devices!
Imagine a smart insulin port attached to your skin, delivering the right dose, and at the right time. At the same moment, getting all information regarding your sugar levels, meds timings, and health data, managed and analyzed with the accompanying app. Kite, designed by Mitul Lad & Cambridge Consultants, replaces the need to pump yourself with over 30 injections a week, thanks to the soft cannula insertion. It turns any device into a ‘smart’ device and automatically dispenses the accurate insulin dose. Designed to be affordable, a device like this can be very helpful in the lifestyle management of diabetics.
Ryan Krause’s VERO isn’t just some regular thermometer… it was built for helping companies monitor the health of their individual employees. The VERO reads temperature using non-contact infrared sensors, but it doesn’t just do that. It helps keep a tab of people scanned too, allowing offices or businesses to internally test their own employees. The VERO scans the patient’s temperature while also logging in their name, details, and their identity… like a biometric scanner that captures an employee’s attendance as well as their health!
I love how designer Manuel Hess put it… “a walker doesn’t have to look like a disease itself.” Harsh but SO true! His proposal for a walker, called PROSUS, ditches the stigma and is instead designed with dignity in mind. It takes inspiration from both sportbikes and modern furniture, applying the same sleek design language to the walker. Unlike “medical” looking walkers, this one totally looks Professor X worthy!
Taking inspiration from Airbus’ existing family of cutting-edge aircraft, the Airbus A-180 Drone project by Reza Salianeh looks a lot like something that might already exist in their modern fleet! To deliver a payload of emergency supplies, it utilizes three double engines – one at the rear for forward thrust and two integrated into the wings for upward and downward maneuvering. Able to take off and land vertically or horizontally, it can safely enter danger zones. Upon arrival, it releases a cargo capsule capable of transporting everything from medicine and antivenin to supplemental blood and even organs.
The award-winning Jelly medicine by Jeongho Oh, Dongho Choi, and Ryangtak Oh is individually packaged to minimize air contact and to prevent almost oxidation of nutrients from the moment it comes into contact with oxygen. It also provides customized medicines by individually tailoring the packaging. You can order medicines for specific diseases and age groups instead of having all tablets coming separately and wasting resources. The aim of this water-free jelly medicine is to ensure that people in developing countries do not needlessly suffer from diseases caused by contaminated water. Not only does this medicine design make swallowing easier, but it also addresses the larger problem of access to clean water in poorer countries. This innovative jelly medicine is created to be water-free so people don’t have to pick between curing themselves or adding on to existing health risks. The jelly is the same size as a sip of water so the patient won’t need to drink anything when taking the medicine. “Poor hygiene and poor water quality are causes of many diseases, including cholera and typhoid fever. When taking medicine in such conditions, there is a risk of acquiring additional illness if the medication is taken with unsanitary water. Jelly medicine eliminates this hygienic problem because it can be easily swallowed without water,” says the designer.
Behold the Full Metal Jacket… No really, this jacket from Vollebak is actually made from a germ-repelling metallic textile. Quite unlike those space-foil jackets that astronauts wear, the Full Metal Jacket actually uses a fabric with woven strands of copper, so it’s entirely breathable, flexible, and doesn’t make a crinkly sound when you move around. With as much as 11 kilometers of copper in each jacket, the apparel relies on copper’s innate ability to kill off any bacteria or viruses that it comes in contact with. The Full Metal Jacket comes with four large waterproof pockets on the outside and three chest pockets for your belongings. Designed to be your everyday jacket, it can be worn in any sort of weather outdoors, and remains as comfortable and soft to touch as any sort of synthetic outerwear would… in fact, you really can’t even see the copper strands unless under a microscope. However, unlike most outerwear, synthetic or not, it possesses the ability to completely obliterate any sort of microorganism that comes in contact with it, a feature that makes it a standout product in our uncertain future.
With reality and life catching up to our unchecked actions, it is time for us to clean up our act and while we repair the damage we inflected to the earth, we need these medical innovations to keep us healthy and safe.
We are in the midst of a pandemic and even a single cough can send our brains into overthinking but I am just here to remind you that seasonal allergies still exist. Yes, pollen is still coming out during COVID-19 (very insensitive of it) – remember that the next time you sneeze so you can avoid the anxiety. We may not have a vaccine for the virus but we do have a solution for your sinus problems – ClearUp!
When sinus hits, we are willing to do anything to breathe normally again. It doesn’t just cause pain in the nose but also your head, temples, and even teeth! ClearUp (FDA approved) was designed to help alleviate the discomfort and provide a long-term solution instead of taking pills every time the season changes. It emits gently microcurrent waves when you glide the gadget over the affected area to reduce the pain and keep it all clear for up to 6 hours. This is especially beneficial if you deal with chronic rhinitis or year-long allergies which means a lot of medication that you can now get rid of. ClearUp’s study shows that 72% of the users got relief after using the device and 82% preferred it over medicines. It also eliminates the hassle of constantly having to clean or sterilize nasal sprays etc.
Constantly buying pills can be expensive and your body becomes immune to it slowly which means you need stronger doses – that is not a good long-term health solution. ClearUp wanted to provide a chemical and drug-free solution to sinus and sinus related issues. It also eliminates the hassle of constantly having to clean or sterilize nasal sprays etc. Charge with the usual USB-C charger and you’re good to go!
It is hard enough to keep a track of what day it is in quarantine so you can only imagine the confusion to keep a track of our fertility cycles when most of us have lost the concept of how time is passing. That is when a nifty personal gadget like Daysy can really help women continue being in charge of their health.
This is a medical device and a lifestyle fertility tracker so that you can continue to monitor your body’s natural cycles in regards to ovulation and menstruation. Daysy was designed to guide you in differentiating your fertile and infertile days based on. All you have to do is take your basal body temperature under the tongue for 60 seconds and enter any relevant menstrual information. Daysy records this data to define your patterns and makes monitoring as easy as it can be – green light for fertile window and a red light if that window is temporarily closed. Think of it as a traffic light if you’re planning a family!
Daysy features an intelligent algorithm that makes instant results reliable backed by years of scientific experience and technology. Just like any smart tracker, it syncs to your phone and stores all your reports on the Daysy app making it easier to share it with your doctor or your partner if need be. The physical form of this personal device just radiates calm energy and YOU know you NEED that during your ‘lady days’ along with a tub of ice cream.
Daysy is a winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2019.
There is no denying that the shortage of tests is causing more panic and unrest in the public. As a global community, we were not prepared with the right tools to curb the outbreak and we’ve learned our lessons the hard way. However, the learning is important and hopefully, this has taught our world leaders to put public health over profits and invest aggressively in resources like PPE and home testing kits so that should a similar situation arise again it won’t cause us to close down the world. Self-testing kits like Blink will ease the load on healthcare professionals and will inevitably educate the people on the protocols that can help flatten future curves.
Every industry from fashion to tech is doing their bit to contribute in this fight and designers are using their creative skills to come up with solutions like 3D printed or low-cost ventilators, facial protection gear or mobile ICU pods, and many other products that will mitigate situations like this in the future. Blink is yet another smart medical device created by designers who were influenced by our current situation. It is compact and was made to be used at home, it can perform basic medical tests and report on your vital signs. The user is guided through steps to measure their blood pressure, body temperature and even carry out basic blood, urine, and saliva tests. Blink collects the data and reports it to a physician who sends his feedback – this not only reduces the risk of transmission (especially in a pandemic) but also is reassuring instead of anxiety induced by overthinking.
Regularly monitoring your health will encourage people to adopt a better lifestyle. Blink’s inclusive design makes that choice accessible to our differently-abled demographic as well who may not be able to get their regular check-ups in quarantine which has a larger impact on their health and this gadget will enable them to be independent in complex times. The user interface is minimal and the user experience is simplified by making data easy to understand. These steps are enough to indicate when you should seek medical help and when you can treat yourself by simply resting up. Right now, most people are going for Covid-19 tests because they are panicking over one sneeze but having a home test kit can be reassuring and reduce strain on medical resources during a crisis. Blink was created to improve the healthcare system by saving time, money, energy and increasing the safety of everyone involved. It empowers you and helps you take better decisions in life – crisis or otherwise.
This project has received Gold awards in both IDEA and Spark Design Awards in 2017 and has been exhibited in Global Grad Show in Dubai.
Designers: Belfug Sener
This article was sent to us using the ‘Submit A Design’ feature.
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As we all do our part in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, our health professionals are working round the clock without the required protective gear or medical equipment to safeguard themselves and continue saving lives. Without these essentials, they are at high risk of catching the virus and the lack of resources can impact the lives that can be saved. The global community is pitching in to help in every way they can – start-ups printed 3D valves and turned scuba diving masks into ventilators (if you have a printer to spare, the design file is available for download), designers at MIT making makeshift ICU pods and fashion brands producing PPE (personal protective gear) for healthcare professionals. Joining this force is Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (ODEK) who has managed to develop a low-cost ventilator with the help of Metric Technologies.
There is a worldwide shortage of medical equipment, especially ventilators as traditionally they are expensive and time-consuming to produce at the rate this virus is moving. ODEK’s alternative costs less than USD 300 and it works on an automated mechanism that squeezes the common bag valve mask ventilation devices that are available in hospitals. This device is usually called an Ambu bag and can save the hours that healthcare professionals spend on manually pumping bags when there are no ventilators available. An exhausted human cannot pump air for extended periods of time with the precision of a machine, so with this device, it will be a lot easier to assist patients that need help to breathe. The device will also include feedback sensors that help fine-tune the flow of air to the lungs, as well as motors similar to those that power 3D printers for hours on end.
“The prototype device uses an Arduino board to facilitate programming that allows the adjustment of the rate at which the bag is squeezed,” says the team who is working on creating a custom integration circuit to replace the Arduino board that will further reduce the cost of the device. This will help in keeping non-critical patients stable and free up resources for those more in need of them. The students had created a plan for this in 2019 and they called it ‘Take A Breather’ unaware of the fact that in a few months their prototype could help save lives. The team wants to make the production plan public so anyone in the world can have access to it and join the effort in coping with the crisis, one of them said it was for all of humanity and we couldn’t thank these young world-changers enough.
Designer: ODEK (Rice University), Dr. Matthew Wettergreen, Dr. Rohith Malya, and Metric Technologies
