Adjustable Stoppable Hinge for IV Brace Flexion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with intravenous injections in the antecubital elbow often unintentionally bend their elbows, leading to IV pinching, flow interruption, or infiltration, causing false alarms and potential tissue damage, due to the inability to control motor movements and resulting in alarm fatigue among medical personnel.
Innovation Solution
A brace system with adjustable upper and lower arm sections, a stoppable hinge, and closures that allow permissible elbow flexion while preventing undesirable flexion, reducing false alarms by only alerting on impermissible movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elbow is completely immobilized to prevent IV complications, then patient safety is improved, but patient comfort and natural movement are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The brace system employs a dynamic hinge mechanism that allows controlled elbow flexion within a safe range while preventing excessive movement. The hinge can be adjusted to permit different degrees of flexion based on the specific IV placement requirements, providing both protection and patient comfort through adaptive movement control rather than complete immobilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows modification of the permitted flexion angle parameter to balance safety and comfort. By adjusting the hinge stop position, the brace can be configured to allow minimal flexion for highly sensitive IV placements or greater flexion for more robust placements, optimizing both protection and patient ease of movement based on specific clinical parameters.
2Reliability
If alarm systems are used to detect IV disturbances, then patient safety monitoring is improved, but false alarms increase leading to alarm fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The brace system proactively prevents the harmful action of excessive elbow flexion before it can occur by mechanically limiting the range of motion. This preliminary prevention eliminates the need for alarm systems to detect and respond to potential IV disturbances, thereby eliminating false alarms entirely while maintaining patient safety through physical constraint.
3Reliability
If a brace system completely prevents elbow flexion to protect the IV site, then IV safety is improved, but false alarms from unavoidable movements are eliminated by preventing all movement
Solution Approach 1:
The brace system divides the elbow joint's range of motion into distinct segments: a permitted flexion zone and a prohibited zone. The hinge mechanism with adjustable stop creates a clear segmentation where normal, beneficial flexion is allowed while excessive flexion that could harm the IV site is mechanically blocked, providing targeted protection without unnecessary complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An arm brace providing adjustable permitted flexion of the arm at the elbow includes an adjustable upper arm section, an adjustable lower arm section, a stoppable hinge connecting the arm sections, a stop to stop the hinge, and adjustable closures to connect the brace system to the upper and lower arm of a patient around the elbow. The stoppable hinge includes a stop receiver with slot detents for inserting a stopping tab at angular settings for permitted arm flexion, and an edge, for interacting with the stopping tab. The upper and lower arm sections are adjustable left-to-right to fit the patient's arm by a ratchet mechanism.