Active-IV-bag with Flow Detector

What it does

Flow Detector: measures the flow of fluid, senses when the IV line is pulled out or blocked, preventing the dangerous situation and notifying it to the nurse in real time. Active-IV-bag: ensures the patient's mobility through innovative hat-shaped design

Your inspiration

In the case of the existing rectangular IV bag, there was a fundamental design problem that the previous one was hung on a heavy iron hanger and disturbed with even small movements. On the other hand, Active-IV-bag can be easily re-located from hanger to your head, and this hat shaped IV bag gives you convenience when you need to move to upstairs or go to bathroom. In addition, a ring-type Flow Detector is attached to the outside of the drip chamber to measure the flow of the fluid. The Flow Detector senses when the IV line is pulled out or blocked, preventing the dangerous situation in advance and notifying it to the nurse in real time.

How it works

The form of the Active-IV-bag was inspired by the Korean traditional hat 'Sago' hat. First, there is a space in the rim of the hat (like a long sausage placed on the cap rim) that can be filled with Ringer’s solution. Next, in the center of the hat there is a place to put your head. By designing the shape of the hat as a hemispherical shape, patients can use it regardless of the size of their head, and they can easily put on and take off their head Especially the ergonomic design was used to distribute the weight of the sap. Therefore, it does not feel fatigue to the neck for a long time. The overall Active-IV-bag is made of transparent material (DEHP for medical use), but various characters or pictures can be printed in the center of the hat to attract the attention of children. The Flow Detector is made of a ring-shaped plastic material and is very lightweight. It also has a cylindrical ring shape, making it easy to attach and detach it to IV drip chamber.

Design process

I watched many patients in the hospital every day that they could not climb the stairs, go to the bathroom due to heavy iron hangers(over 7kg). It leads to a serious problem of reducing the recovery rate. I also often witnessed where the patients were sleeping and turned around, and the IV line was falling on their own. Many patients simply remove the IV because of inconvenience. This situation results in bleeding and serious situations where medication is leaked out, or not available on time. However, many countries including Korea, the number of nurses is small so that they find this serious situation late. We needed medical innovation through design and technology. However, in the case of the neck pillow type of IV bag(first tried), it often caused the problem of blood reflux. (If the hands connected to the IV are located higher than the IV bag, the blood will flow backward) I needed a design that would ensure safety, along with patient mobility and convenience. I have experimented directly with all previous unsuccessful IV bag designs and have been researching the locomotion of patient hands for a long time. As a result, I devised an IV bag design for the head position that can be pursued for convenience while maintaining the height recommended by the medical association.

How it is different

The Active-IV-bag is in the form of a hat. Patients usually hang this IV bag on the hanger. And when they go to the bathroom or to eat, they can put on the IV bag and can move freely (as if wearing a normal hat) Active-IV-bags do not simply increase activity. It creates friendly feelings through design innovation and provides emotional stability. With Active-IV-bags, nurses can get closer to children and replace the IV line easily. Children's awareness of having a new hat present makes hospital treatment more friendly. And this provides emotional stability and can lead to a successful recovery rate. In addition, a ring-shaped Flow Detector can be easily replaced with an IV drip chamber. In addition, this product replaces the traditional $ 20,000 (bag-sized) physical Flow Detector with only a few dollars, using a light refractive index detector. Above all, it is very small and lightweight. And it can be used up to 60 days with one charge.

Future plans

At the heart of Active-IV-bags is the combination of design and technology to create medical innovation. The cost of manufacturing Active-IV-bag is $2 each. It has enough price competitiveness. Many hospitals are sure to be passionate about Active-IV-bags. The Flow Detector made it possible to replace the existing millions of dollars of expensive equipment at a very low price through the conversion of the detection method. Professors of Hanyang Hospital participated in the research. Above all, it has the advantage of free of contamination by applying non-contact measurement method using light. I want to change this market with innovation.

Awards

I submitted this design to IDSA, IDEA design award 2019. And it won on IDSA, IDEA design award.