Docking Cup Transfer Housing for Secure Medical Equipment Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical equipment transfer systems are inefficient, costly, and pose safety risks during patient transport due to complex mechanisms, lack of standardization, and inadequate infection control, often requiring multiple staff and extensive training to manage the transfer of life support equipment between stationary and mobile platforms.
Innovation Solution
A clamshell housing-based transfer device with standardized components and a security mechanism that automatically locks equipment in place during vertical lift, allowing seamless transfer between platforms while minimizing the risk of dislodgment and facilitating easy cleaning and optimal patient care positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional manual equipment transfer methods are used, then staff can move equipment with patient beds, but equipment may fall and tear out patient connections causing safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
A transfer device acts as an intermediary between stationary and mobile platforms, providing a controlled transfer mechanism that prevents equipment from falling. The transfer device includes engagement structures that securely hold equipment during transition, eliminating the hazard of equipment dropping and damaging patient connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer device is pre-positioned and prepared before equipment transfer begins. The engagement structures are ready to receive equipment, and the transfer mechanism is staged in advance to ensure smooth, controlled movement without sudden drops or disconnections.
2Productivity
If multiple caregivers are used to move equipment manually, then equipment can be transported, but staff time and costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer device enables equipment to be transferred with minimal human intervention. The self-contained transfer mechanism automatically guides and secures equipment between platforms, reducing the need for multiple caregivers to manually handle and position equipment during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer device serves as an automated intermediary that performs the complex coordination of equipment movement between stationary and mobile platforms. This eliminates the need for multiple staff members to manually coordinate the transfer, significantly reducing labor time and costs.
3Ease of manufacture
If non-standardized equipment support structures are used, then equipment can be supported, but components are costly and do not conform to infection control requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer device incorporates universal, standardized components that can be used across different equipment and platform types. These standardized components are designed to meet infection control requirements while providing broad compatibility, eliminating the need for custom, non-compliant equipment support structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer device uses standardized components with controlled surface properties and geometries that meet infection control parameters. The design incorporates smooth, non-porous surfaces and standardized connection interfaces that facilitate cleaning and disinfection, transforming non-compliant custom components into infection-control-compliant standardized parts.
4Ease of operation
If vertical docking mechanisms are used, then equipment can be transferred between platforms, but misalignment on the ground makes seamless transfer difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer device is pre-positioned and aligned before the equipment transfer begins. The docking mechanisms are prepared in advance to accommodate potential misalignments, ensuring that even if platforms are not perfectly aligned, the transfer can proceed smoothly without requiring high-precision platform positioning.
5Reliability
If equipment support structures are moved to mobile platforms, then transport safety improves, but equipment cannot be positioned optimally for patient care during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer device incorporates dynamic positioning capabilities that allow equipment to be adjusted and repositioned during transport. The mechanism enables equipment to be securely mounted on mobile platforms while maintaining the ability to optimize its position for patient care, combining safety with operational flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An equipment transfer device is provided that is transferable from one support to another support. The transport device is formed as a housing that has two spaced apart, generally parallel recesses, which form docking cups that are open to the bottom. Each docking cup is configured to receive a docking cone that is supported on a structure and is capable of moving in generally a vertical direction into engagement or out of engagement with their respective docking cups. A support post is also supported by the housing and protrudes from the upper end thereof as a base to which an equipment support structure is attached. In this manner the transfer device can be transferred from one docking cone to another with minimal handling and virtually no possibility of dislodgement.