Tag Archives: Medical equipment

Electric inversion table concept makes back therapy more comfortable (and pretty)

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If you’ve never seen an inversion table before, you might be shocked when you walk into a room and you see someone lying upside down on this table. It brings some Silence of the Lambs vibes with Hannibal Lecter strapped into a bed, only this table is upside down. But it’s actually a thing that people with back problems do alongside other therapies to treat their back problems without having to resort to surgery. But most of the ones in the market don’t look very comfortable and may even be difficult to operate on your own.

Designer: Eui Ju Lee

This concept for an electric inversion table for Lime, a company that manufactures healthcare equipment, aims to solve those issues. Aside from looking clunky, most of these tables look like they belong in a hospital or a public gym and not your living room. The designer did use exercise equipment as basis for how such a table can fit in your environment but the renders show a much more homey looking device that can rotate in 180 angles to help your back issues.

They also tried to solve some issues that users had with operating inversion tables on their own. The handle is normally attached to the motor but is a bit hard to reach when you’re lying on the table. But with this concept, they put it in a place where it’s easy to reach and turn the inversion table to whatever angle is comfortable and useful for you. And since you’ll be lying on it for a few minutes, it should be pretty comfortable. The backrest is wide enough to make you feel stable and the soft square plate shape is the core visual as shown in the renders.

Compared to existing inversion tables, this one will look at home in your living room and your bedroom as it can blend with the other pieces of furniture. The pastel colors and the shapes of the various parts in the renders also adds to the comfort level of the user. In theory, it should work so the next challenge will be to see if this design, as well as the principles like ankle fixation and rotation can be applied.

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“Airy” makes back braces more fashionable, comfortable, and sustainable

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One of the staples of Hollywood teen movies from the 80s and 90s is that one girl (or guy) who gets bullied or teased if they’re wearing a back brace for their scoliosis. Of course we all now know better (I hope) but the fact remains that these braces can be bulky and highly unfashionable. What’s more, they’re custom fit for users but teenagers, who are mostly affected by this condition, grow up fast so they are quickly outgrown. But the past years, we’re getting better designs for back braces and some of them are even more sustainable.

Designer: Sangyu Xi

One of the better-designed ones is the award-winning prototype called Airy which is a lightweight, comfortable, fashionable, and even sustainable kind of brace to correct the lateral curvature of the spine. The designer actually created this after talking with a group of adolescent girls, which is the demographic most affected by scoliosis. She tried to solve the pain points of the current back braces available in the market and came up with something that is not just comfortable but adjusts to the still-growing bodies of its users.

The design improves on the Cheneau light brace and adopts the basic architecture but modifies the side pieces to be asymmetrical so it can be easily adjusted whether left or right curvature is needed. The prototype is made from translucent polylactic acid (PLA) and its padding has a voronoi pattern not just for aesthetics but to let the brace breathe. The foam also leaves more room for proper air circulation. Instead of using the velcro strap that users are used to, this contraption has a nylon cord with a three-point connection as its closure. There is also an app that can be connected to the brace through a smart device so the development can be monitored.

Since adolescents may sometimes feel awkward about wearing braces, the Airy has fabric-like patterns so they can wear it even with their summer wear and beachwear where the braces might be exposed. There are also five color options to choose from to adapt to the user’s preferences: coral, rose, monochrome, chartreuse, and turquoise. And since this doesn’t use synthetic glues, the rigid parts of the brace can then be recycled. The prototype and product renders show this to be something that can not just help teens with their scoliosis but can also make braces look a bit fashionable.

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This soap-shaped device is actually a super stethoscope that could save your life

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There has been a great deal of interest and even obsession over keeping tabs on one’s health at home, but there are some things that not even an Apple Watch can detect.

Fitness trackers have been around for years, succeeding the single-purpose pedometers that were en vogue among some athletes in the past. Smartwatches, in turn, have started to offer more hardware to measure and monitor a variety of vital signs, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, or even heart rhythms. The Apple Watch has often been praised for its life-saving features because it alerts the wearer of potential problems they might not have otherwise known.

Designer: SEIKI DESIGN STUDIO

It’s not that people don’t want to go to doctors per se. Many are just dissuaded because of the costs and the uncomfortable procedures involved. If there was a convenient and easier way they could keep track of their health at home, they probably wouldn’t mind more regular check-ins with healthcare professionals. That’s exactly the kind of situation where this “Super Stethoscope” is designed to shine.

Calling it a stethoscope is a bit confusing because it doesn’t look anything like the iconic medical tool. That’s intentional, of course, because of the emotional and psychological barriers that might come with seeing a conventional stethoscope. Additionally, there are only a few things you can do with a stethoscope alone and without training, and most of its other uses require other tools, like a blood pressure apparatus.

In contrast, this Super Stethoscope should be all that you need to read a variety of body signals, specifically those coming from the heart. This device would be able to take ECG and heart sound measurements to detect a variety of cardiac disorders. The science and technology behind this device currently hides behind a few patents filed both in Japan and in the US.

The design of the Super Stethoscope is almost a contrast to its name. Shaped like a pebble or a soap, the form is intended to convey feelings of comfort and gentleness from a device that is supposed to be used for clinical purposes. It could definitely get rid of some hesitation and fear from people who shy away from checkups, though a wearable device is probably still more convenient compared to something that you have to lie down to use.

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A solar-powered weighing scale concept to help save the lives of babies in remote communities

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It’s easy to take for granted simple things like keeping track of our weight. For babies in hard-to-reach areas, however, that can be a matter of life or death, and this portable solar scale tries to help tip the scales in the baby’s favor.

The first few weeks of an infant’s life are critical not only to their growth but also to their survival. Many parents might take for granted the many tools and resources available to them in watching over babies during this crucial period, conveniences that are not even accessible to remote and socio-economically challenged communities. Even something as basic as a weighing scale for infants is rare and difficult to come by, something that this product concept is trying to solve in the most efficient way possible.

Designer: Craig McGarrell

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2.4 million children around the world died within the first month of their lives. While there are many factors that contributed to this number, a very big factor in remote regions is the ability to monitor the baby’s weight during that month. Weighing scales used in these areas are often old-fashioned analog scales that can be inaccurate and too heavy to move from one community to another easily. This makes it difficult or nearly impossible for healthcare workers to keep a close watch on babies’ weights, leading to unfortunate neonatal deaths.

The ROOTS Solar Scale concept is an attempt to modernize this critical medical equipment without making them too complicated to use or too expensive to maintain. For one, it is completely digital, which removes the risk of getting inaccurate readings over time. It is also solar-powered so that electricity won’t be an issue.

The design is also meant to be lightweight and easy to carry around, even on foot, taking the form of a backpack when not in use. The weighing bowl inside creates a safe structure for the infant to lie in, while the stiff hinge prevents the lid from accidentally closing with the child still inside.

The Solar Scale is meant to be a cost-effective solution that is easy to make and repair, thanks to having very few parts. Despite relying mostly on solar power, the design isn’t completely sustainable, as it relies heavily on plastic, particularly to give the weighing bowl a smooth surface that will be gentle on the baby’s skin while also easy to clean.

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This inflatable stretcher designed for emergency missions decreases the chance of panic-induced injuries!

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The inflatable stretcher designed by Yu-Hsin Wu caters to impromptu emergency situations with the goal of lessening the effects of panic-induced injuries caused by medical personnel and/or the patient.

Life-threatening rescue situations can bring on panic in anyone, even first responders. When EMT personnel, nurses, and doctors are faced with life or death, the panic that comes with it can exacerbate preexisting injuries or worse yet, result in new injuries. In an attempt to avoid these sometimes fatal mistakes, Taiwan-based student designer Yu-Hsin Wu developed their own interpretation of an inflatable stretcher that comes equipped with medical tools and kits that ensure a successful rescue mission.

Wu’s inflatable stretcher features a similar build to everyday flotation devices like pool floats with additional fastening cushions that keep the patient in place. This inflatable stretcher also comes with integrated tools kits and medical accessories for rescuers to use on the patient before and during the ride to the hospital.

Since Wu’s inflatable stretcher comes with built-in rescue tools and clinical appliances, the medical aid given to the patient will feel intuitive and systematic. Ideal for high-traffic locations and community recreation zones, the inflatable stretcher comes packed with instructions so health professionals like lifeguards and on-site supervisors can use the stretcher with ease whenever necessary.

Lightweight and portable by design, the inflatable stretcher can be used across many different rescue circumstances, from water rescue missions to airlift emergency situations. Recognized by Golden Pin Design Awards for its innovation in the medical field, the inflatable stretcher already comes equipped with several medical tools for use during emergency crises, so no matter the location or form of transportation taken to the hospital, patients will receive preliminary care.

Summing up the design in their own words, Wu describes, “When an accident occurs, the rescuer’s emotions and strains may not be able to properly rescue. The inflatable stretcher integrates ambulance supplies and fixed equipment, it is expected that when an incident occurs, it can be quickly taken in the form of a bag, and calmly follow the instructions on the stretcher to correctly rescue.”

Designer: Yu-Hsin Wu

This ultra-portable oxygen concentrator the size of a hard disc straps on to your backpack with almost 0 weight

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An ultra-compact oxygen concentrator machine tailored for places like high mountains where the oxygen levels drop with every step. The best thing, it doesn’t add to the carrying load of the wearer. which is a big advantage!

Climbing high peaks brings with it a set of unique challenges – low oxygen levels being the major one. This can cause breathing difficulties and in extreme cases fatalities in people with underlying medical conditions. That’s how important carrying oxygen reserves to high-altitude places actually is. This is turn gives rise to a new set of challenges – carrying bulky oxygen cylinders which can be laborious and take up a lot of useful space that could otherwise be used to store important supplies. Even using portable oxygen cylinders doesn’t have much merit.

I always imagined an oxygen concentrator machine that would be able to provide the necessary assistance while not being bulky or even look like a medical device, to be frank. This ultra-portable oxygen machine conceptualizes the dire need for a medical device capable of assisting climbers and trekkers in a form factor no bigger than your portable HHD. The compact outdoor equipment reduces all the extra bulk in a slim design that can be hooked right onto the backpack’s shoulder strap or your waist. It is so lightweight and small, you won’t even notice it is even there.

Dubbed OXYGIO, the portable oxygen concentrator designed by Yifeeling Design extracts the oxygen molecules from the air, filters, and compresses them to channel pure oxygen via the nasal cannula to the wearer. The medical equipment looks more like a modern gadget which is another advantage for people who like their things to be aesthetically pleasing. The digital display on the front shows the SPO2 levels and the remaining battery percentage.

While the designers don’t detail the operational time of the medical gadget, I presume it should be good for 3-4 hours. Also, the logical assumption is, it could be plugged into a battery bank to charge in around an hour or so . I seriously believe this should be the way to go for portable oxygen concentrator manufacturers who’ve stuck to the boring design for the most part. It would be the ideal situation if they can achieve the slim and ultra-compact form factor of the OXYGIO .

Designer: Yifeeling Design

These portable medical devices are designed be a completely incognito health monitoring setup

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Lunit is a collection of portable medical devices designed to be inconspicuous for comfortable use in public settings.

Portable medical devices are trusted by those of us with health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Recontextualizing the portable medical device to be more accessible and tactful, designers Dayeon Jang and Sungchae Park created Lunit, a collection of portable medical devices designed for use in public settings.

Lunit is comprised of four medical devices: an inhaler, blood glucose meter, insulin syringe, and a blood pressure oximeter. Jang and Park took on the portable medical device because they noticed a lack of ergonomics and comfort in the antiquated medical devices still on the market today. Each device of Lunit is inspired by the dark side of the moon to be inconspicuous at first glance, laced in smoky black and gray tones and wrapped in translucent coverings reminiscent of evening mist.

Lunit’s inhaler comes in the same familiar shape as traditional inhalers, but a tubelike build with rounded corners and edges gives it a smoother grip and more ergonomic handling shape. The translucent coverings on both ends of the inhaler also work to give it a more obscure look.

Jang and Park reinterpreted the blood glucose meter as a household product that could be taken on the go as easily as the inhaler. The insulin syringe also finds a bit of obscurity through translucent, foggy coverings that conceal the full function of the syringe, giving it a design as discreet as a pen’s. Finally, the blood pressure oximeter is small enough to fit inside your breast or back pocket and comes with all the functions of a traditional oximeter.

Designed to fit inside your pocket, portable medical devices like inhalers and insulin syringes allow users to take care of restricted airways and high blood sugar levels from anywhere, but sometimes the device’s aesthetic design is less user-friendly than their portability. In prioritizing a discreet look for Lunit, the designers hoped to dampen the staring eyes and stigma typically associated with portable medical devices.

Speaking to this, the designers suggest, “When using medical devices outside, users can [become] nervous or uncomfortable because they are worried about what people think about them or their actions. We want to solve [this] through design so that users with underlying diseases can no longer hide and take care of their health with confidence.”

Designers: Sungchae Park and Dayeon Jang

The ribbed, translucent covering of Lunit’s insulin syringe gives it inconspicuous concealment.

When covered, the insulting syringe from Lunit looks like a pen. 

The blood pressure oximeters are adorned with yellow dots similar to a starry night.

Small enough to fit into any pocket, Lunit’s oximeter can be taken anywhere.

The household blood glucose meter looks just like a portable radio.

Equipped with their own carrying case, each device from Lunit is designed to make taking care of yourself look as good as it feels.

This CPR kit is a self-directed, sustainable, low-cost alternative for medical emergencies!

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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.

Designer: Shuai Li





Medical innovations that will revolutionize the future of your healthcare: Part 2

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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.

Scaled

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!

This wearable cast revolutionizes healthcare by protecting and healing injuries without sacrificing mobility!

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Healthcare is a space that designers are now focusing more on after the pandemic. From portable ICU pods to 3D printed masks and medical devices that monitor health at home, the design community is focusing on creating products that can help the healthcare workers as well as the patients so the burden on the overall system is reduced. While we can’t control accidents, we can be better prepared for them, and SCALED is a project from RCA aimed at doing exactly that – protecting and healing you to improve the quality of life to keep pace with longevity. This could be the next generation of casts that merge protection, healing, and mobility into one superhero-like wearable!

Research shows that human joint injuries are often recurrent and likely to cause long-term immobility. Designer Natalie Kerres then 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 geometry of animal scales has changed through the process of evolution according to environmental parameters which are critical for survival. A scale structure is capable of impact force distribution and, moreover, is flexible in one direction and limiting/interlocking in another,” she explains.

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.

The design’s name fits the product appropriately – the scales in the wearable are a product of biomimicry. The geometry is inspired by lizards, fish, and pangolins. SCALED gives us an opening into producing mass-customized wearables with interlocking protective scales for controlled motion limitation. “The developed algorithm designs a data-driven, customized, and responsive scale structure according to the user’s specifications. SCALED can be used for injury prevention, rehabilitation, and sports performance enhancement through regulated motion control,” elaborates Kerres. SCALED received funding and is joining the MedTech SuperConnector to be further developed for series production.

Designer: Natalie Kerres

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