E/ME$105$Balamurali.k**********************************************************************Eldo*Zacharia**********************************************************************Jenny*Wang***********************************************************************Dylan*Lee*Fall$10*EZ*Transfer**EZ#Transfer,#Team#4## 2 Table$of$Contents$1.$Executive$Summary............................................................................................................. 3#2.$Market$Needs ..................................................................................................................... 3#3.$Mission$Statement.............................................................................................................. 4#4.$Defining$the$market ............................................................................................................ 4#5.$Product$Design.................................................................................................................... 5#5a.#Safety........................................................................................................................................................................................ 7#5b.#Government#approval ......................................................................................................................................................8#5c.#Ease#of#use..............................................................................................................................................................................8#5d.#Durability#and#Maintainability .................................................................................................................................. 11#5e.#Manufacturability............................................................................................................................................................ 11#5f.#Size#to#Fit#Population...................................................................................................................................................... 12#6.$Business$Plan .................................................................................................................... 12#6a.#Comparison#of#two#methods....................................................................................................................................... 12#6b.#Costs...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13#6c.#Marketing#Plan.................................................................................................................................................................. 15#7.$Ethical$Plan ....................................................................................................................... 16#8.$Major$Challenges .............................................................................................................. 16#9.$Future$Plans...................................................................................................................... 17#10.$Appendix ........................................................................................................................ 18#10a.#Transfers#in#India#and#United#States.................................................................................................................... 18#10b.#Human#Height#and#Body#Weight............................................................................................................................ 19#10c.#FiveTyear#financial#plan.............................................................................................................................................. 20#10d.#Risk#analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 21#10e.#Team#Assessment ......................................................................................................................................................... 21#EZ#Transfer,#Team#4## 3 $1.$Executive$Summary$EZ Transfer is a start-up company dedicated to improving patient transfers for hospitals in India. Currently, many hospitals in Kerala, India do not have and are not aware of existing patient transfer devices. Lifting patients during transfers is a necessary procedure with the use of our device. In addition, manual transfers expose the patient to further injuries, especially when hospitals are understaffed and the nurses are undertrained. This project was inspired by the experiences of a team member’s friend after a severe back injury. With the help of a hospital administrator, a nursing school principle, and hospitals nurses, we gathered information that led to a device meeting all our criteria. We examined the possible methods to introduce the product to the market, and estimated the profitability of our product. We believe that our product can help nurses and patients in addition to making a profit. Our project has the potential to make a valuable social impact. The work we have already put in ensures that we have a well thought-out product as we enter the next phase of our design. The project offers so many positive results that we will definitely continue this project after this term. 2.$Market$Needs$Currently, nurses in India transfer patients by using brute force to lift patients and move them to another bed or a wheelchair. This method is physically difficult for nurses because they have to lift the patient’s entire body. Hospitals are often understaffed so the patient’s weight may be distributed over only two nurses Figure 1: Brute force transfer method http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_nursing29.2a4929b.htmlEZ#Transfer,#Team#4## 4 and each nurse may have to lift up to 37% of their own body weight. Transfers are often uncomfortable for patients because it is impossible for only two nurses to adequately support all parts of the patient’s body and nurses sometimes lack adequate training. In American hospitals, the combination of increased personnel and the use of transfer devices alleviate many of the problems Indian hospitals encounter when transferring patients [see section