Enclosing Holder for Ergonomic Stool Specimen Container

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional stool specimen collection containers are inadequate for patients with disabilities, as they are difficult to manipulate, prone to leakage during shipment, and fail to meet air transportation regulations, posing challenges for geriatric patients with arthritis and vision impairments.

Innovation Solution

An ergonomic container design featuring a bucket and lid with engaging features that allow easy sealing and mixing, including a floating seal and gripping features for comfortable handling, along with an enclosing holder for secure agitation and processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of moving object

If conventional containers are made larger to hold complete stool specimens, then sample containment capacity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates because people with small or weak hands have difficulty gripping the container and lid

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer sizeVSAvoidease of gripping

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The container is divided into separate functional components: a body portion for holding the sample and a distinct lid portion for sealing. Each component can be independently designed with optimal gripping features, allowing the lid to have a smaller, more manageable gripping surface while the body provides adequate sample capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Gripping aids are introduced as intermediary elements between the user's hands and the container components. These aids provide enhanced grip capability without requiring the user to directly grasp the entire large container, thus resolving the contradiction between large size and ease of gripping.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Volume of moving object

If conventional containers are designed for adequate sample capacity, then sample containment is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to leakage during shipment and failure to meet air transportation regulations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer capacityVSAvoidsealing reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The lid is designed with a sealing feature that is preliminarily positioned to engage with the body portion before the container is subjected to shipping conditions. This preliminary sealing arrangement ensures that leakage prevention is built into the structure from the start, maintaining reliability throughout transport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A flexible sealing feature is incorporated between the lid and body portion, allowing the seal to adapt to minor dimensional variations and maintain integrity during shipping. This flexible seal provides reliable leakage prevention while accommodating the necessary container size for complete stool specimens.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Volume of moving object

If conventional containers are made with sufficient diameter for sample capacity, then sample containment is improved, but ease of operation worsens for geriatric patients with arthritis and vision impairments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer volumeVSAvoidease of manipulation

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the container into body and lid portions, the design allows the lid to have a smaller diameter with enhanced gripping features, making it manageable for patients with arthritis and vision impairments, while the body maintains sufficient volume for complete stool specimens.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Gripping features are concentrated at specific locations on the lid portion where they are most needed for manipulation, rather than uniformly distributing features throughout the entire container. This localized approach improves ease of operation for geriatric patients while maintaining adequate container volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Volume of moving object

If conventional containers are designed for sample collection, then sample containment is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple components required for sealing and manipulation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer capacityVSAvoidcontainer structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The container is segmented into two main portions (body and lid) with integrated sealing features, reducing the need for separate sealing components and simplifying the overall structure while maintaining adequate capacity and sealing reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20240173718A1Enclosing holder for processing a sample in a container

Publication Date: 2024.05.30 EXACT SCIENCES CORP

AI summary

Provided herein is technology relating to collecting and containing samples and particularly, but not exclusively, to technology for collecting and containing a stool specimen. The technology provides a device for collecting and containing a stool specimen, the device comprising ergonomic features optimized for a geriatric user. The technology also provides an enclosing holder for securing the ergonomic stool specimen container in a leak-proof manner e.g., during mechanical shaking.