Getting to the first prototype
Much thought and deliberation occurred between Trey, Tom, and I before reaching the first prototype. When selecting our project initially, I think we all wanted to develop a tangible device that would solve a clinical problem. So, we all had similar motivations from the beginning, which made selecting our clinical need area much smoother than initially anticipated. With careful consideration, we narrowed our topic down to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cerebral Palsy. We ended up choosing RA, because we could better envision a solution to the debilitating pain and morning stiffness intrinsic to RA. We wanted to devise a way to reduce the morning stiffness experienced by all age groups. After identifying our clinical needs and criteria, we determined that the most significant need would be a need for our design to keep the digits of the hand in frequent motion throughout the night.
Upon finalizing our objective needs for the design, we met with a RA physician named Dr. Pudhorodsky. Dr. Pudhorodsky shared with us some information and background knowledge about RA, its symptoms, and what he thought the future treatment/cure of RA would be. Being a moderate RA sufferer himself, he was able to provide additional insight into the struggles and daily difficulties associated with the disease from a first-hand and personal perspective. We ran our idea by him for a glove that would maintain hand motion at night in order to reduce joint stiffness in the morning. He said, “It could work!”, which we interpreted as a validation to continue with the design idea we had fabricated.
With feedback from Dr. Pudhorodsky, we were able to sit down and generate some preliminary design sketches. Among our sketches, we explored design methods to maintain hand motion with stings, magnets, water, air, motors, and pumps. We concluded on a design that incorporated a motor and strings. We reasoned that the motor could pull on strings attached to the digits of the hand; the fingers could be backed by semi-rigid plastic strips that would elastically return the fingers and thumb from a flexed position to an extended position.
And from this, construction of our first prototype began……
-Albert Schibani
BME Design 