Title: Disabled Patient Positioning SystemNames:Hani Bou Reslan - Communicator Snoop aka. “Tom Pearce” - BSACJoel Rotroff - Weblord Ben Moga - LeaderClient: Professor Frank FronczakDates: 2/4 – 2/17Problem Statement:The medical field is seeking improved methods of providing for patients who use wheelchairs. There are two possible problems to solve.Problem 1: A platform device is desired that enables wheelchair users access to health care procedures. The device should have two-degrees of freedom (rotation of 360 degrees, and vertical translation from 3”-9” above the floor). This device should be motorized, transportable, easy to use, and safe.Problem 2: In some cases, it is necessary to weigh a patient at least once a day to aid in diagnosis. Persons with disabilities using a wheelchair often have difficulty weighing themselves using common scales because of the wheelchair and positioning issues. It would be beneficial for the patient to be weighed directly in their wheelchair or possibly in a bed.Restatement of Team Goals:To get the Disabled Patient Positioning System (DPPS) translating vertically by Feb. 12 for the Schoof’s competition.Individual Goals:Snoop = Construction + DesignJoel = Market Research + Rotational MotorHani = Manufacturing CostsBen = Getting a Patent + DesignSummary of Accomplishments:We have the prototype moving up and down, it took a lot of time and energy. (Relection of Schoof’s at the end of report)Statement of Team Goals:Focus on obtaining a patent for the DPPS. This means concentrating our efforts not mainly on the prototype, but on selling the idea.Project Schedule: Date Goals Activities12 February Schoof’s Competition Do our best, get slammed,learn a lot5 March Mid-semester Presentation12 March Report / Lab Books due Oh Yeah!!!30 April Poster / Final Prototype due No problemo5 May Written report Do really goodDifficulties:There are alignment issues due to the wheels fitting properly in the tracks. However, it can be easily remedied by making the wheels a little bigger and adding extra c-clamps.Activities:Team = ? Hani = 37.5Snoop = 61Joel = 35Ben = 65Totals:Hani = 56.5Snoop = 91.5Joel = 50Moga = 98Schoof’s reflection section:Joel: We were encouraged to join but the BME design classes do not emphasize the marketing and industry aspect of the competition. He suggests that there should be more emphasis placed on this in design class and that seniors should have more freedom in choosing their own projects based on client interviews and/or creating a brand new device with no specific clientele attachments.Snoop: It hurts the BME participants that our projects are solicited from outside sources and so the creativity/innovation is not expressed at the same level.Hani: Schoof’s is for creativity, we were hit hard.Moga: This was a good experience not only on an individual basis, but on a departmentallevel as well. It is apparent that our design classes are very good at teaching us the design process. However, there is also an apparent weakness in the program from a marketing side. Distribution, total cost, available market, competition, etc. are all very pertinent issues to success of a biomedically engineered product. Joel’s idea of giving theseniors more freedom to choose or even to create their own projects is a good one. Engineers need to learn more than just the design aspect because at a bare minimum, engineers must understand the marketing process to be an efficient part of such a process.What hurt us the most is the stage that we are at with our project. We hammered out the prototype just in time to find out that even WARF has serious questions pertaining to our design submission. Schoof’s was an eye opener, the drug dispenser group can testify to that. If BME is serious about being competitive in the Schoof’s competition, things need to be changed. A whole new business perspective was opened before my eyes in just two short days. The lesson learned was a hard one, perhaps that can be remedied in the future.On a more personal, group orientated note. We are weak in the area of market availability. Part of it was assuming that there was a market out there since this project was basically handed to us as a national design competition. The bottom line is, we need to patent this. With no IP backing, this could end up just another cool project that a lot ofenergy was poured into for solely educational purposes. To patent the DPPS, we need to clarify the design innovations that set it apart and prove that there is a market out there worth spending the money on to get a patent. Peace
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