Modular Bariatric Mannequin Segmentation Flexible Couplings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bariatric mannequins pose challenges in safe handling and training for healthcare professionals due to their size and weight, leading to musculoskeletal injuries and inadequate simulation of anatomically correct weight distribution, which existing modular mannequins with fluid-filled parts and polymer plastic couplings do not adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A modular mannequin composed of individual sub-parts with removable materials of varying densities and flexible couplings made of fabric, allowing for adjustable weight distribution and easy assembly/disassembly, along with fastening and adjustment means like hook and loop fasteners and slide buckles, to simulate the weight and size of an obese human.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bariatric mannequin is made with sufficient size and weight to simulate an obese human, then the training realism is improved, but the ease of transportation and storage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mannequin is divided into multiple separable components including head, torso, pelvis, and limbs that can be detached from each other. This segmentation allows the heavy mannequin to be broken down into manageable parts for easy transportation and storage, while maintaining the ability to assemble a full-weight mannequin for realistic training when needed.
2Reliability
If a bariatric mannequin is made with sufficient weight, then the simulation of anatomically correct weight distribution is improved, but the risk of musculoskeletal injury to handlers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mannequin into separate components, handlers can work with individual lighter parts rather than moving the entire heavy mannequin at once, reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injury while still being able to assemble the full-weight configuration for training purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
Different components of the mannequin can be filled with materials of varying densities to achieve anatomically correct weight distribution in specific regions (e.g., heavier abdominal area for obesity simulation), while the overall structure remains manageable through segmentation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a modular mannequin uses rigid couplings for connecting parts, then the structural stability is improved, but the flexibility and ease of adjustment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible couplings made from materials such as webbing, fabric, or flexible plastic to connect mannequin parts. These flexible connections provide sufficient structural stability to maintain the mannequin's form while allowing for easy adjustment, reconfiguration, and adaptation of the mannequin's position and configuration during training.
Data Source
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AI summary
A modular mannequin has a plurality of individual mannequin sub-parts and one or more flexible couplings. Each of the flexible couplings is configured to releasably connect two or more of the plurality of individual mannequin sub-parts to one another. Further, one or more of the individual mannequin sub-parts is each configured to receive at least one removable material. The modular mannequin may improve the ease of which a bariatric mannequin, i.e. a mannequin having a sufficient size and/or weight to simulate an obese human, is transported and/or stored when not in use and may improve the simulation of an anatomically correct weight distribution in such a mannequin.