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Top Continual
CONTINUAL
portable medical light
Paramedics often work through the night and are dispatched to poorly lit locations to provide victim care. Lighting conditions can be poor during natural disasters due to damaged infrastructure, requiring paramedics to administer on-site care in pitch-black environments.
Paramedic medical supplies and training are also rapidly progressing, allowing paramedics to execute procedures which are more complicated and more invasive. However, portable lighting equipment has not advanced at the same pace. Inadequate lighting has proven to inhibit the productivity and accuracy of medical professionals. Current standard lighting does not equip paramedics to perform at their best.
Term Project
2024
12 weeks
Carleton University
Skills:
Ideation + Prototyping
3D Modelling
Rendering
Woodworking
3D Printing
Continual Process
01 PROCESS
THE CHALLENGE
"Design a novel innovation for the medical lighting market. The resulting product will aid in the achievement of three UN Goals"
Molly Creaghan
Crew Rickard
Sam Damen
Tracy Li
Ethan Angus
PHASE 1: GROUP RESEARCH
This project began with collaborative research beween five students. The research informed us on the expanse of the medical lighting industry. Including product-lines, companies, user groups, and other relevant information.
PRODUCT AUTOPSY
During the autopsy process, a dental medical examination light was tested, and then broken down into its components for analysis. Various features from it's design were translated into the final product.
01. There is a motion-limiting pin for all rotating joints, stopping the rotation from exceeding 360 degrees. This limitation ensures that internal cables do not get tangled (One pin is highlighted in green above).
03. The light contained rubber covers for ease of assembly, disassembly, and manufacturability.
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02. An aluminum plate, which absorbs heat generated by the LED's (See Item 8)
04. The translucent plastic cover for each LED had a refracting pattern which heightening the light dispersion. The six lights combined produced shadowless lighting. This is essential technology for medical lighting devices.
CURRENT MARKET PRODUCTS ANALYSIS
Portable, adjustable, stand-alone, high quality medical light
There exists a gap in the market for a durable, stationary, adjustable device which produces high quality light. As weather, terrain, and urgency become more extreme, products require appropriate materials of sufficient quality to allow paramedics to perform at their best.
Sketches were drawing by Molly Creaghan for this portion.
GRAFFITI BOARD
The Graffiti Board visually compiled our research, organizing the stakeholders, technology, environment and other essential details to define our project goals. Most importantly, the board provided the necessary information to choose the UN sustainable development goals which best aligned with our products. As a collective, the group decided to explore portable medical lighting in different markets.
THE UN GOALS TARGETED BY CONTINUAL
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GOOD HEALTH
& WELLBEING
INDUSTRY, INNOVATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
This goal is promoted by improving the productivity and overall capability of paramedics.
Portable medical devices provide a solution to navigating infrastructure, better connecting medical professionals to those in need.
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REDUCED INEQUALITIES
Continual lights would be internationally distributed, improving emergency response worldwide. Regions more prone to natural disasters would be prioritized for product distribution.
Next, our group gathered a collection of lamps, tripods, lights and other devices with relevant forms and functions that could inspire our designs. This was the final group element of the project.
MECHANICAL MOOD BOARD
PHASE 2: INDIVIDUAL DESIGN PROCESS
PERSONA
Through conversations with a paramedic in Ottawa, I learned about the rescue process, and what this particular paramedic has felt during various rescues. Based on the information she provided, I created a fictional persona to design for.
"Janine uses her phone and vehicle lights to work at night. She experiences high stress during rescues and is susceptible to leaving supplies behind. Though she can normally manage her stress well, disturbances in efficient rescue flow can add unnecessary stress to a demanding occupation. She is a rookie in the department and therefore is challenged by the need to quickly assess when a victim should be treated on-site, or immediately be transported to a medical facility. Katherine is 30 years old, with a husband, two children, and a middle-class income."
DESIGN BRIEF
Design an international, portable medical lighting device for paramedics which can be deployed to light up a rescue scene in any environment. The device will allow the paramedic to provide precise victim care to injured persons, especially when victims cannot be transported to an ambulance. The product must be lightweight, hands-free, and compatible with pre-existing medical equipment. It will have rapid setup and knockdown capabilities. The product will speed up the delivery of paramedic rescue services. The light should use LED’s and shadowless technology. The battery should sustain charge for the full duration of a paramedic shift (12 hours). Lastly, the device should be intuitive and attractive.
SKETCH PROCESS
Sketching is essential for visualizing the form of each of the product components. Pictured below is the main sketch process, which also encapsulates the feedback from the user testing pictured below.
1:1 Scale Drawing
WORKING PROTOTYPE
The working prototype acted as a test apparatus for user testing. It was a mixed media concept featuring PVC, wood, PLA, and a selfie stick extension pole.
Neccessary height and range of motion dimensions were taken using a simple prototype
A bayonet mounting mechanism inspired the locking mechanism for the opened and closed configurations of the final light design.
The completed prototype in its closed configuration, featuring a 3D printed leg system, and a PVC body encasing the light extension system.
The light was mounted to a t-joint, with a press-fit ridge connection to the telescope, allowing for 360 degree rotation and 270 degree twisting. Lastly, the telescope was mounted to a ball joint which follows a CAM path to travel in and out of the main housing.
The opened configuration, standing in tripod formation, with the ball joint and light mechanism directing the light to the left.
USER TESTING
The objective of the user testing was to explore the variations in user operating preferences. Four subjects, all industrial design students, were individually instructed to act as "critical care paramedics responding to the aftermath of the recent damage from hurricane Helene in Florida. A new lighting product was being developed to allow them to perform rescues through the night." Test subjects were instructed to operate the product at different heights, and in different orders. The degree of force, length of time and mental effort it took each user to operate the prototype was recorded.
Subject 1:
Pictured bent over
Subject 2:
Pictured standing
Subject 3:
Pictured crouching
Subject 4:
Pictured kneeling
FINDINGS
Subject 3's product interaction was the quickest and smoothest. Most notably, the subject placed the product on the ground, and then lifted the body, rather than dropping the legs. This choice put her dominant hand in a swift position to direct the light towards the victim. For the final product, I adapted the affordances to encourage product operation in this manner.
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All subjects operated the product with a great deal of force, likely due to the direness of the situation. Coupled with the environment, the product needs to be highly durable and resilient. The ball joint was not robust enough to be a beneficial mechanism for the final product.
FINALIZED CONTRAINTS
NECESSARY FEATURES
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12 hours of light, nearly that of a full paramedic shift
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The paramedic should be able to confidently provide advanced victim care including intubation, IV insertion, cricothyrotomy, and chest needle decompression.
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Device must balance on uneven, sloped surfaces
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Easily accessible in an emergency
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Compatible with pre-existing equipment
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Superior specs to current headlamps, flashlights, or other paramedic lighting equipment
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Steady, diffuse floodlighting, such that the patient and medical equipment are clearly visible.
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Adjustable light direction
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Waterproof Rapid setup and knockdown, 20 seconds per operation maximum
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Intuitive affordances
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Chargeable
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Less than 5 pounds in weight
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Durable mechanisms, and a feeling of indestructibility
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Attractive and professional aesthetic
Continual Final Design
02 FINAL DESIGN
OVERALL DIMENSIONS AND CMF
The final model, built in Solidworks and edited in Keyshot, spans a maximum height of 98cm, and compacts to 26cm, with a diameter of 7.5cm. The colours match the traditional ambulance and uniform colours of first-responders in American television, with reflective tabs to provide visible affordances in all conditions. The overall look is heroic, which matches that of the target user.
LIGHT HEAD
The light head is made with an ABS plastic housing. Inside is the wiring, running through the aluminum telescope in a coil system. The wiring is rigged up to the aluminum plate, attached to which are the LED's. Lastly, there is a polycarbonate refracting lense. The light head can spin about 350 degrees, and rotate about 180 degrees.
MAIN BODY
The main body features many components of the design. The ON/OFF button, the battery indicator lights, and a casing for the telescope. In the mid-section, there is a groove system with a dual bayonet-mount, allowing the tripod leg ring to travel between the opened and closed configurations. The bottom compartment contains the batteries, PCB, and features a snap-lock lid for battery changes when necessary.
TRIPOD RING
The tripod ring slides inside the grooves of the main body, and rests against the battery casing via the tripod legs at a 45° angle. This robust system requires no springs. When closed, the magnets on the legs attract to those on the main body, closing the system. The reflective arrows lineup when the system is unlocked, and are misaligned when the system is rotated to a closed position, directing ease-of-use. The tripod legs rotate around dowel pins which are inserted through the pictured opening, covered by a translucent rubber cap.
TRIPOD LEGS
The injection molded tripod legs have a CONTINUAL patterned support, as well as rubber feet for improved traction on slippery surfaces.
Pictured here is the closed configuration. Designed to be highly compact during transportation. There is a rope for carabiner attachment, which makes it easy to integrate the light with existing medical gear when not in use.
CLOSED CONFIGURATION
USE CYCLE
01
Unclip the light from equipment once the victim is identified
02
Extend the telescope
03
Turn on the light, take note of the battery life
04
Twist to unlock the light from its closed configuration
05
Release the tripod, and twist again to lock into its opened position
06
Configure the light head to direct the light towards the desired area of focus. The flood light illuminates both the affected area and the medical equipment
The exploded view displays the different elements composing Continual. It highlights some of the essential components and explains the basic assembly. Continual was designed for a circular economy. Parts can be easily removed for servicing and exchanging. The rubber capped backing on the light housing allows the polycarbonate plate to be removed, and rubber caps for the dowels on the main body allow for full leg-replacement or servicing.
EXPLODED VIEW
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
The technical drawings further provide assembly direction and general assembly. However a far more extensive booklet would be required for actual manufacturing.
PHYSICAL MODEL
The physical model provided scaling for presentation, something more tangible which could be better pictured in the field. It is composed of PLA, high-density foam, wood, PVC, bent acrylic, lazer and engraved clear plastic. Two small LED's were inserted under the plastic to display the light capability. The resulting parts were spray-painted using a water-based mixture.
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