Double-Cuffed Chemotherapy Gloves for Safe Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing elastic gloves used in medical practices, particularly for handling chemotherapy drugs, pose a risk of skin contamination during removal due to their design, leading to inconvenience and impaired dexterity when double gloves are worn for safety, as clinicians often fail to follow recommendations for safe removal procedures.
Innovation Solution
A double-cuffed glove design featuring a primary cuff and an independent secondary cuff, where the secondary cuff extends outwardly and proximally, allowing safe removal without skin contact, using impermeable materials like nitrile or neoprene, and co-molding disparate materials for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single elastic glove is used to provide close fit and tactile sense, then tactile sensitivity and dexterity are improved, but the risk of skin contamination during glove removal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The glove is segmented into two functional parts: a primary cuff integrated with the glove body for wearing, and a separate secondary removable cuff for safe removal. This segmentation allows the glove to provide both tactile sensitivity during use and contamination protection during removal by separating the protective function into distinct components.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If double gloves are worn to protect against contamination during removal, then skin contamination risk is reduced, but dexterity and tactile sense are impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cuff function is extracted from the main glove body and implemented as a separate secondary cuff that can be removed. This allows the protective function to be applied only when needed during removal, rather than requiring continuous double gloving, thereby maintaining dexterity during the actual chemotherapy administration tasks.
3Reliability
If double gloves are worn to ensure safety during removal, then contamination protection is improved, but the time and inconvenience for donning gloves increases
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary removable cuff is merged with the primary glove body through attachment features (such as elastic bands, Velcro, or snap fasteners) located at the glove wrist portion. This integration allows the protective cuff functionality to be combined with a single glove structure, eliminating the need to don two separate full gloves while still providing the same contamination protection during removal.
Data Source
AI summary
A disposable elastomeric glove has a secondary cuff disposed distally of a primary cuff on a wrist region of the glove. The secondary cuff may be grasped by an opposite hand to safely remove the glove with the primary cuff in place to protect the skin on the wrist from contaminants on the opposite hand. The secondary cuff approximates the design of the primary cuff such that the removal process is similar to that of a conventional glove.