My brainstorming and planning process for the numbing agent design challenge are shown above. After a rapid brainstorming session, I came up with 20-30 ideas for making shots less painful. I explored a range of methods using different materials. This range included cooling by temperature, cooling by surface chemicals, and cooling with anaesthesia. In my final prototypes, I represented these different approaches. My brainstorm also included the methods of application, not just the numbing agent. These methods included patches, syringe attachments, and free standing devices.
Shown below is an overview of my 5 final devices.
My first prototype is a syringe attachment with a cooling agent inside. The device fits around the syringe, and can be pulled down to break a seal and start an exothermic reaction. A soft pad at the end soaks up the cool chemical agent and is applied to the patient. Since the cooling attachment has been pulled down, the needle is safely inside the device and will not touch the patient’s skin. After applying the number, the device is pulled up again, and the shot is given. This device is designed to be cheap, quick, and disposable–3 of the main requirements of the design challenge.
My second prototype is also a syringe attachment, but uses a different numbing agent: a numbing gel called benzocaine. The device has a button on the side that, when pushed in, pressurises the chamber, causing the numbing agent to spray out of the syringe and onto the patient’s skin in a precise fashion. This method is disposable and can be used with one hand. This chemical is more expensive than the exothermic reaction above, but is easier to use.
My third prototype is simple and easily the most intuitive. The device works as a band-aid would, and comes wrapped like a band aid. The shot administrator would remove the seal, revealing a pad soaked in a numbing agent with a netted adhesive backing that helps the device stick while allowing numbing agent to make contact with the skin. The administrator would need to wear gloves to use this device. The holes in the netting are designed to let the needle fit through, so a shot can be given in a precise area while the pad is still on. Thus, the function of this device doubles as a maker for the location of the shot. This device is cheap and easily disposed.
My fourth prototype holds a liquid agent in the top half and a powder agent in the bottom, which mix together when a tab on the outside is pulled around the circumference, breaking a series of barriers and allowing the liquid to drop through. The bottom is a pad which soaks up the liquid exothermically reacted agents and is applied to the skin directly. This device is cheap, single use, and packaged with the syringe. It is a very precise and safe way to numb a specific area.
My final prototype is akin to an ice tray, which holds cooled gel packets with sticky backing. Each unit is disposable and extremely cheap. The ring in the middle is large enough to fit the needle through, and small enough that the area is still cooled by the surrounding bed.
