Hand Cover with Apertures for Medical Device Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Critical care patients often unintentionally remove medical interventions like endotracheal tubes, IV lines, and nasogastric tubes, leading to life-threatening situations, and current restraints cause physical discomfort and increase the risk of critical illness polyneuropathy.
Innovation Solution
A hand cover with a protective housing and adjustable mechanism that secures the hand, providing air circulation and access while inhibiting removal of medical devices, and includes features like a splint to maintain the wrist in a cocked position and attachment points for restraints or exercise bands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cloth restraints are tied around patient's wrists to prevent removal of medical devices, then patient safety is improved, but physical comfort deteriorates and risk of critical illness polyneuropathy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The restraint system is segmented into separate functional components: a protective housing that covers only the hand and wrist area, rather than restraining the entire arm. This localized approach prevents device removal while minimizing the affected area, reducing physical discomfort and neuropathy risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful aspects of traditional restraints (full arm confinement, skin irritation from cloth) are extracted and replaced with a protective housing that provides safety through physical barriers and structural design, eliminating the need for cloth restraints that cause discomfort.
2Reliability
If traditional cloth restraints are used to secure hands, then medical device protection is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple components needed
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into a single integrated protective housing: device protection, hand coverage, and structural support. This consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate restraint components into one unified device, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective housing serves multiple purposes simultaneously: it protects medical devices, provides hand coverage, supports wrist positioning, and can accommodate various types of medical interventions, making it a universal solution for different clinical scenarios.
3Reliability
If hand is completely enclosed to prevent device removal, then patient safety is improved, but air circulation and access to hand deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protective housing incorporates localized openings and fenestrations in specific areas to provide air circulation and limited hand access while maintaining overall protection. This selective permeability ensures safety functions are preserved in critical areas while allowing breathability and minimal interaction where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing incorporates fenestrated structures that allow air to pass through while maintaining the protective barrier. This porous design enables thermal regulation and reduces the enclosed feeling without compromising the restraint function.
4Strength
If protective housing is made stiff to resist deformation, then structural support is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protective housing employs varying degrees of rigidity in different regions: stiffer materials or structures in areas requiring protection (distal end, device coverage areas) and more flexible materials in contact areas (proximal end, wrist region). This gradient design provides necessary structural support while minimizing discomfort at patient contact points.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand cover includes a protective housing secured to an adjustment mechanism. The protective housing inhibits contact between the hand and the external environment. The adjustment mechanism secures the hand cover to the user. An optional upper access aperture provides air circulation and access to the hand. An optional lateral access aperture also provides access to the hand. An optional positioning mechanism helps maintain the hand cover in place. Attachment anchors for restraints or exercise bands may be provided and devices for orienting and securing IV lines may be provided.