Medical Product Design

BIOENG 1024: Medical Product Design - Heart Monitor

This page describes the heart monitor model that I created in my medical product design course. This course taught me lots of new skills, such as sewing, vacuum forming, milling, and lathing. I hope to showcase these skills below by detailing each component of the heart monitor and how it was made.

The Components

Housing

The housing for the blood pressure monitor was modeling after the existing product on the market. This model was 3D printed and further finished to give it a glossy coat that more accurately resembled what a manufactured model would look like. The 3D printed housing was treated with Bondo and sanded to remove the ridges that result from 3D printing. It was then sanded and primed, followed by a layer of white Rustoleum to give it the finalized look.

Faceplate

The faceplate for the blood pressure monitor was laser cut out of acrylic with vinyl and paint applied to give it a finished look. Three colors of vinyl were cut via a vinyl cutter and applied to the acrylic to represent the buttons and the screen display. A layer of white spray paint was applied to the back of the plate to give the finished white look. A further coat of gray paint was applied to represent the LCD screen.

Cuff

The cuff that wraps around the user's arm reused some of the components from the cuff on the market, as well as some of my own fabricated pieces. The main black fabric was laser cut out of nylon and bound together around the existing air bladder, metal loop, and a rubber tube that is used to keep the cuff in place when it is wrapped around someone's arm. The hook and loop pieces of Velcro were sewn onto the corresponding piece of nylon before binding the two pieces together.

Motor

The 'motor' was an exercise in CAD, technical drawing, and turning on the lathe. The piece pictured to the left was first modeled in CAD to resemble the motor that fills the air bladder in the cuff. A drawing was then created of this piece and used to turn Delrin on the lathe and produced the final piece.

LCD Screen

The 'LCD screen' was also an exercise in CAD and technical drawing, as well as machining on the mill. Much like the motor, this piece was modeled in CAD and a drawing was created for it. Then, using this drawing, I milled a piece of Delrin to resemble the LCD screen in the product on the market.

Vacuum Formed Packaging

The packaging for the housing was created by vacuum forming over a blank. The formed packing consisted of a top and bottom piece, which were stapled together to enclose the housing. The top piece was formed over a 3D printed blank that was adhered to a laser cut piece of hardboard, while the bottom piece was simply formed over a laser cut piece of hardboard. Pictured to the left is my final blood pressure housing inside of the finalized packaging.

Course Reflection

BIOENG 1024: Medical Product Design was a valuable course that taught me many skills for prototyping and design. I learned how to vacuum form, sew, mill, lathe, and vinyl cut. I also further developed my skills in 3D printing, laser cutting, and spray painting/finishing. Other skills gained in the class that were not pictured in the deliverable were sketching, working with foam core as a form of prototyping, and silicone molding. I am grateful for all the skills and knowledge I have gained over the semester, and look forward to putting these skills into practice on future projects.

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