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Project 4: Pump Caddy

Abstract

Our team’s goal is to create a design to help our kid with Short Gut Syndrome. This child is very active and loves to play however due to his condition he needs to be attached to two pumps for 18 hours a day. Because of his age and size, he is unable to carry his own pumps, and the lines attaching them only give him four feet radius to move around. The main goal of this project is to give this kid more independence.

Austin Niec, Lacy Grinder, Grace Kimbro, Max Marczak, Austin Williams

Problem Statement

Our child requires a central line attached to a medical pump for him to retain sustenance throughout the day. All of their pumps and medical supplies are kept in a backpack that is too heavy for him to carry on his own at such a young age. Our immediate solution is to create a way for him to carry this bag around without needing his parents help. Our overall design involves attaching the bag to a contraption with wheels to give him more independence of movement. To further add to this, we would like to give him a harness that attaches to the contraption so that he may move around without having to worry about pulling or pushing it.

Design Specifications

  • Lightweight
  • Handles to push/pull
  • Harness and lead so that the apparatus will “follow”
  • Hook to hang 8.5″ x 11″ x 16″ backpack
  • Wheels with multiple degrees of freedom

Background Research

Short Gut Syndrome:

Short Gut Syndrome (or Short Bowel Syndrome) is a condition where the small intestine is shorted and damaged, which does not allow the body to extract enough necessary nutrients from eating. This requires the patient to have an IV with nutrients injected into their blood stream by use of pumps.
Effects on Design:

The IV bags must stay upright, requiring hooks in the design. The pumps are sensitive to impact, so padding must be brought into consideration. Additionally, when fully loaded the bag can weigh around 15 lbs, so the design must be stable enough to account for the weight.

Concept Design 1

The concept design under consideration is an aluminum framed box with a rectangular base on four Mechanum wheels that has a tough fabric body with a hard top and bottom. The interior will be padded to reduce any jostling or damage the pumps could receive. The interior will also have hooks so that the backpack can be easily taken out and inserted and have ample space should any toys or items need to be carried as well. To keep the child out of the pump bag, the buggy will have a sectioned-off area that will have a child lock on it. To support outdoor use, the buggy will have outdoor wheels that can handle tougher terrain and be removed easily with the use of cotter pins.  The buggy will also have an adjustable handle and a harness that will be comfortable for the child to wear and still provide support. The harness will have a form of spring and flexible yet tough pipe or cable that will keep the buggy from hitting the child when he stops moving.

Pros for Base:

  • Stable, simple
  • Collapsible

Cons for Base:

  • Larger than other designs

Pros for Mechanum Wheels:

  • Move in any direction

Cons for Mechanum Wheels:

  • Motion perpendicular to angled wheels will be bumpy

Concept Design 2

The concept design under consideration is an aluminum framed box with a triangle base on three Omni wheels that has a tough fabric body with a hard top and bottom. The interior will be padded to reduce any jostling or damage the pumps could receive. The interior will also have hooks so that the backpack can be easily taken out and inserted and have space should any toys or items need to be carried as well.  To support outdoor use, the buggy will have solid rubber outdoor wheels that can handle tougher terrain and be removed easily with the use of cotter pins.   The buggy will also have an adjustable handle and a harness that will be comfortable for the child to wear and still provide support. The harness will have a form of spring and flexible yet tough pipe or cable that will keep the buggy from hitting the child when he stops moving.

Pros for Base:

  • Three points of contact will always be on the ground
  • Small

Cons for Base:

  • Not a lot of room for sectioning off
  • Potential for sharp edges
  • Could be dangerous for him if it ran into him

Pros for Omni Wheels:

  • Wheels that allow for a larger range of motion than a standard wheel
  • Have smaller wheels set perpendicular to the normal rolling direction along the perimeter of the main wheel in order to be able to move forward as well as side-to-side

Cons for Omni Wheels:

  • Poor efficiency since all the wheels aren’t rotating in the direction of movement.

Concept Design 3

The concept design under consideration is a five-gallon bucket with 3 casters evenly spaced, bolted through the bottom with a layer of padding on inside of the bucket to protect the backpack and the sensitive calibrated pumps inside from bumps.  The bucket will have a child-proof lid so they will not be able to mess with the backpack inside.  The cart will be attached with an elastic cord to a harness that is comfortable for the child to wear, while the casters will be modified so that they have a slight resistance to rolling freely. This way the cart will not roll into the child when he stops moving.  To support outdoor use, the cart will have a separate detachable base that can be freely attached and removed with a butterfly set screws.  With this mechanism, the family can be outside quickly just by dropping the main body into the base and tightening the set screws.  The indoor wheels will fit in the gaps of this base and hang down while the bigger outdoor wheels are able to move freely.

Pros for Base:

  • The outdoor base is quick and easy to attach.
  • Cheap

Cons for Base:

  • Possibility of tipping over

Pros for Caster Wheels:

  • Will need to be modified to give resistance

Cons for Caster Wheels:

  • Swiveling the wheel is more difficult

Semester

2023 Fall