Infusion Line Harness Structure for Tangle-Free Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Critical care patients often have numerous infusion lines that become disorganized and tangled, leading to contamination, nurse confusion, physical hazards, and potential damage to medical devices.
Innovation Solution
An infusion line harness is introduced, comprising a rectangular material with anchor tabs and fasteners that form a tubular structure to manage and organize infusion lines, anchoring them to an IV pole and a patient's bed to prevent entanglement and clutter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple infusion lines are used for critical care patients, then patient treatment capability is improved, but line organization and safety deteriorate due to tangling and disorganization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate infusion lines into a single integrated harness structure. The flat flexible material consolidates multiple lines that would otherwise be separate and tangled, allowing them to be managed as one unified unit while maintaining individual line functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The infusion lines are nested within the tubular structure formed by the flat flexible material. The material wraps around and contains the lines, creating a nested configuration where the lines are protected and organized within the harness structure.
2Loss of time
If infusion lines are left unorganized, then setup time is reduced, but contamination risk and physical hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The harness is pre-formed with a tubular structure and anchor points before use. This preliminary preparation allows for quick insertion of infusion lines without requiring complex organization steps, while the structure itself provides immediate protection against contamination and hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The flat flexible material acts as an intermediary structure between the infusion lines and the environment. It provides a protective barrier that reduces contamination risk while organizing the lines, mediating between the need for quick setup and the need for safety.
3Reliability
If anchor tabs extend the full width of the rectangular material, then anchoring capability is improved, but the tubular structure formation is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor tabs are positioned only at specific locations (opposing ends of one longitudinal edge) rather than extending across the entire material width. This localized placement provides sufficient anchoring capability while leaving the rest of the material free to form the tubular structure properly.
Solution Approach 2:
The rectangular material is segmented into functional zones: anchor tabs at specific ends for securing, and the remaining material for forming the tubular structure. This segmentation allows different parts of the same material to serve different purposes without interfering with each other.
Data Source
AI summary
An infusion line harness includes a rectangular material with first and second anchor tabs opposing ends of a first longitudinal edge of the rectangular material such as to extend the first longitudinal edge of the material to include a length of the first and second anchor tabs. The rectangular material includes one or more first fasteners positioned on the rectangular material along the first longitudinal edge and one or more complimentary fasteners positioned along the second longitudinal edge and which are configured to connect to the one or more first fasteners, the first fasteners and second fasteners being positioned such that when connected to each other the rectangular material forms a tubular structure. The first and second anchor tabs each are configured to wrap around a respective object and fasten to itself, or to a respective portion of the rectangular material, to anchor the harness to the respective object.