Medical Sensor Holder Ventilation and Cable Relief Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current oximeter sensor holders face issues with patient comfort due to uneven pressure distribution, sweating, and mechanical durability, particularly wire breakage from repeated bending, and fail to accommodate varying finger sizes effectively.
Innovation Solution
A sensor holder design featuring a housing with ventilation channels and apertures for improved airflow, a flexible cable relief structure to prevent wire breakage, and a shape that closely fits the finger to distribute pressure evenly, reducing sweating and accommodating different sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the sensor holder uses a closed structure to enclose the finger, then it provides secure retention, but it causes excessive sweating and moisture accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor holder incorporates ventilation channels with apertures formed in the housing material, creating a porous structure that allows air circulation through the holder. This enables moisture evaporation and reduces sweating while maintaining the enclosed structure for secure retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The ventilation channels create airflow paths through the sensor holder using natural convection and pressure differentials. Air moves through the channels and apertures to facilitate evaporative cooling and moisture removal from the finger surface.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the sensor holder uses weak springs to avoid excessive finger pressure, then it maintains patient comfort, but it causes the holder to readily fall off the finger
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor holder employs a flexible housing made of elastomeric material that dynamically adapts to finger movements and shape changes. This flexibility allows the holder to maintain secure retention through elastic deformation rather than relying on weak springs, while still distributing pressure evenly to avoid discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is constructed from flexible elastomeric material that conforms to the finger's contours and movements. This flexible shell provides retention through elastic tension and geometric interlocking rather than mechanical springs, achieving both comfort and stability.
3Ease of operation
If the cable is repeatedly bent relative to the sensor holder, then it allows for movement and adjustment, but it causes wire breakage and mechanical failure
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is pre-configured with a relief structure that anticipates and accommodates bending movements before they occur. This preliminary geometric design allows the cable to flex in controlled directions, reducing stress concentration and preventing wire breakage during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable assembly is segmented into flexible sections and more rigid sections, with the relief structure creating intermediate zones that accommodate bending. This segmentation allows movement flexibility in specific areas while maintaining wire integrity in critical connection zones.
4Strength
If the sensor holder uses a hard shell with high profile, then it provides structural strength, but it creates pressure points and discomfort on the patient's skin
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is constructed from flexible elastomeric material that conforms to the finger's contours and distributes pressure evenly across the contact surface. This flexible shell provides sufficient structural strength through material properties and geometric design rather than rigid hard shell construction, eliminating pressure points and discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor holder design incorporates varying material properties and thicknesses in different regions of the housing. Areas requiring higher strength have different characteristics than areas requiring softness for comfort, achieving both structural integrity and gentle skin interface through localized property variations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enhances patient comfort by reducing sweating and pressure points, improves durability by minimizing wire breakage, and securely attaches to various finger sizes while maintaining ease of application and gentle skin interface.
Implementation Method 1
a housing (2) configured to surround a hollow (5) for a subject appendage, the housing (2) having a first channel (30) for a gas volume following the hollow (5), a first aperture (31), a second aperture (32) and a third aperture (33) for a ventilation of the gas volume of the first channel (30)
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor holder (1) for medical sensor is disclosed herein. The sensor holder includes a housing (2) surrounding a hollow (5) for a subject appendage, the housing having a first channel (30) for a gas volume following the hollow, a first aperture (31), a second aperture (32) and a third aperture (33) for a ventilation of the gas volume of the first channel. (Fig. 5)