“I’ve become so numb I can’t feel you there.” – Linkin Park

The purpose of this assignment was to get some experience in creating low-fidelity prototypes. We were supposed to design something that could numb a sensitive area that will be pierced by a syringe. Admittedly, I had a hard time getting my creative juices going for this one. Still, I’m pretty satisfied with my results.

First, we had to brainstorm some ideas. I decided that there would be a mix of different solutions. Some would be separate entities that would act independently from the syringe itself, and some would be attached to the syringe. Immediately, the idea of a chilled piece/disc of metal appealed to me. We could use a cheap metal, and application would be fairly straight-forward. However, the major drawback would be having to chill the metal disc ahead of time. Despite this, I decided to keep this as a possible solution. I liked the idea of a “numbing sticker” that someone in class suggested. I decided to roll with this as well. I gravitated to the idea of an aerosol or cooled/compressed air that would cool the skin. Packaging would be a challenge, but I thought it would work. Then there was the shameless pull from the original group’s idea: using an endothermic reaction between two chemicals to cool the skin prior to injection. I also used this same concept in an idea where a metal rod may be cooled with this method.

I’ll be the first to say that my knowledge of chemistry is pretty limited, so I had no idea where to start in deciding what the two chemicals should be. Sure, I googled “endothermic reaction between…” but I still did not know how cold these reactions were. So, for the sake of moving things along, I’ll leave the chemicals up to your imagination or the cop out “whatever that one group used.”

    

Note: (In hindsight, I probably should have done a better job in documenting the earlier portion of this assignment (with pictures), but this is something I can keep in mind for future assignments. )

In this section, I’ll present to you some of the different prototypes I made and the thinking behind them:

The first thing I decided to make was an “injection site” where I could demonstrate the different prototypes I produced.  This prototype was designed more to communicate ideas rather than act as a solution.  To simulate skin, I opted to go with foam. I used a Sharpie to mark the target area and injection site. Additionally, I created a “needle” that could be used to simulate the needle of the syringe. This particular prototype will make appearances with the rest of the prototypes.

      

This is my aerosol/compressed air idea. The concept is that the air (which may or may not be laced with an anesthetic such as benzocaine) is compressed in a packet that has a nozzle or small opening that would allow the user to aim the air properly. The packet is “popped” and the air is released. To make it, I taped two pieces of construction paper together and put a fluffy pom pom inside to give it the volume I wanted. The result was a paper “ravioli.” I added a tab that would be removed to allow the seal to break and the air to escape. In hindsight, I probably would have moved this to a different location since aiming air from this part of the packet would be rather difficult.

     

This prototype is a larger version of the tab. This time, the “packet” is made out of black foam, but the tab is made out of the same material (gold duct tape). The paper on the other side serves as the breakable film. As you can see, you can peel the tab back so that the film underneath can be broken. This is supposed to keep the packet from popping prematurely. You cannot “pop” it with the tab on.

     

Next are the numbing stickers. I imagined the stickers to be like foam tabs, so finding the foam stickers was super convenient for me. I simply poked a hole through the center of a circular foam sticker and viola! Instant numbing sticker. The idea is that the user would place the sticker over the injection site, wait, and then inject through the hole. As for the sticker itself, there is also the option of making the sticker transparent so that the user can see the injection site better.

     

I also created this sticker sheet, where you can see how the stickers might be packaged. You would be able to pull the sheet apart on perforated edges, and for children, the stickers could come in fun designs that might put a child at ease. All the stickers have the insertion point clearly marked in about the center.

     

This prototype is my first use of the endothermic reaction idea. It’s pretty much a thermopack that cools down when you break the seal inside and mix the two chemicals. There’s also an adhesive on the back so you can press it up against the skin without having to manually hold it. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward.

These next few prototypes are based off of concepts in which the device is actually attached to the syringe.

The first one is actually the first idea that I had. It’s an attachment to the syringe that snaps on, and there is a hinged part that can be extended down. This extended part has a small metal disc at the end which is chilled and pressed against the injection site. The snap attachment was actually quite fun to make. I had the idea of molding a piece of foam to the shape of the dowel I was using as the “syringe.” Oh yes, I decided to use a wooden dowel as m “syringe” for these prototyped. Anyway, I molded the foam by gluing it to a piece of construction paper which was wrapped and secured around the dowel, and then coated/soaked the the foam in glue while it was in that form. After the glue dried, I added another layer of glue and let it set again. When that had dried, I removed the paper from the dowel, cut the excess paper away from the foam, and the foam held its shape. This was glued to a popsicle stick, which was then attached to another stick. This served as the main body of the prototype. The part where the two stick join are supposed to move like hinged joint, but I figured if I glued them at an angle, the basic idea would be inferred. Then, I used modeling clay to make the part that would make contact with the skin. I opted for a half circle shape so it wouldn’t be too big, but there would still be enough surface area. The piece of construction paper on the bottom of this is supposed to represent the metal plate.

   

The next idea is pretty simple. This also uses the idea of a chilled metal plate, but this time, it is located on the plunger. For this, I simply colored the end of the wooden dowel with a blue marker and sculpted a “plastic” cap for it out of purple modeling clay. The user would press the plunger against the skin before the injection. This idea definitely has its flaws, as Helen pointed out to me, that it might be dangerous if the user has a needle at the other end and they are flipping the syringe back and forth. Maybe the the needle could be attached after the use of the cooling plunger?

This last prototype, which is sort of an amalgamation of some of the previous ideas, is a metal rod that is cooled by a an endothermic reaction and pressed against the injection site. The two chemicals are mixed when a tab is broken. The metal rod is cooled, and then used. The  device is attached to the barrel of the syringe. I used modeling clay to make the main body, a piece of foam for the tab, and a metal rod I found in the cart. If the entire thing is re-sized to properly outfit a syringe, and a proper mechanism for releasing the rod was conceived, this might work.