Wearable Wound Simulant Multi-Layer Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for simulating battlefield wounds in medical training lack realism, failing to accurately replicate visual, tactile, and functional aspects of injuries, limiting the effectiveness of training for non-medical personnel.
Innovation Solution
A wearable wound simulant with a multi-layered structure comprising bendable and tear-resistant layers, pigments, and a self-sealing mechanism to mimic skin and tissue properties, allowing for realistic simulation of wounds, including bleeding and internal organ displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If makeup is used to simulate wounds, then the appearance can be customized and detailed, but the application process becomes lengthy and the appearance degrades over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a physical replica of skin and tissue using silicone-based materials that replicate the visual appearance of human skin without requiring makeup application. The simulant includes layered structures mimicking skin layers, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle, providing a permanent physical copy rather than temporary cosmetic application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state from two-dimensional makeup application to three-dimensional tangible tissue simulation. The silicone-based material allows for customization of physical properties such as firmness, elasticity, and color to match different body regions and wound types, eliminating the need for time-consuming makeup application while maintaining appearance fidelity.
2Reliability
If vinyl devices are used to simulate wounds, then the structure is more durable than makeup, but the device lacks elasticity and cannot properly conform to the human body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible silicone-based materials that can be molded into various body contours and wound configurations. The material's inherent elasticity allows the simulant to conform to different body regions while maintaining structural integrity and durability throughout use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure combining silicone-based materials with varying degrees of firmness and elasticity to simulate different tissue layers. This composite approach enables the device to simultaneously achieve durability, flexibility, and body conformance that single-material vinyl devices cannot accomplish.
3Shape
If rigid tubes are used to simulate vascular elements, then the structure is stable and defined, but the vascular structures lack compressibility and flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid tubes with flexible silicone-based vascular structures that can be compressed, expanded, and deformed to match the dynamic behavior of real blood vessels. These flexible tubes maintain their vascular definition while possessing the necessary compressibility and flexibility for realistic simulation of vascular injury and treatment.
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable wound simulant including a skin replica having the appearance of a particular region of the human body, examples including but not limited to a leg, arm, torso, or stomach, and a wound disposed along the skin replica is described. The skin replica includes a plurality of bendable layers arranged to replicate the visual and tactile properties of human tissues and at least one tear resistant layer comprised of a fabric material disposed between two bendable layers. The tear resistant layers are less stretchable than the bendable layers so as to prevent the bendable layers from stretching beyond their failure threshold. Design elements of the present invention facilitate the visual, tactile, and functional aspects of a battlefield wound so as to allow for the diagnosis of injuries associated therewith. Furthermore, the present invention allows for the insertion of a needle or the like, the probing and/or packing of wounds, the compression of vascular simulants to stop or limit blood loss, and the replacement of dislodged organs.