After introductions, tutorials, and traveling for the first two weeks, the third week really marked the beginning of our getting to work on our project. As a refresher, Chikondi and I are tasked with designing a stand for the Bililight phototherapy device that can be used in a variety of cribs, cots, and beds. We took all of the feedback from our hospital visits and brainstormed lots of ideas for different types of stands (shoutout to my Freshman Engineering Design class for teaching me how to effectively use the brainstorming/screening/scoring process!).
Some of the feedback that we took into consideration was the desire for the light to be able to move out of the way from overtop of the bed so the nurse can access the baby easier. We came up with mechanisms for swiveling the light sideways, but realized that this would change the center of mass of the device and possibly throw the stand off balance. The ideas we came up with for swinging the light up or completely wheeling the entire stand away seemed more viable.
On Tuesday, we were able to visit the nursery at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital here in Blantyre to see how they use the Bililight currently. When they use it with a radiant warmer, the light is placed on a metal, 3-sided stand and when it is used with a wooden incubator (called the Hot-Cot) it is simply placed atop a plexiglass cover. They like the metal stand, although it can hinder access to the baby at times. They are concerned with using the bililight with the Hot Cot as their current method puts the light too close to the baby. After this visit, we tried to take these two new types of beds into consideration as we screened our brainstormed ideas.
This week also included a hardware store adventure in which we visited at least 10 different hardware stores around the Blantyre area searching for different types of hinges and bearings and any other things that could be useful for creating more space above the bed for access. It was really interesting to see different types of hardware stores. One we visited seemed like a standard hardware store you would find in the US, like a smaller Home Depot. Most others were quite different — there was a small front room with a counter and some products on display on the walls, but you had to tell the employee at the counter what you were looking for and they would go back in their store rooms to bring you products. Overall, our shopping trip was not as successful as we would have liked and we only managed to find a few different types of hinges.
We built a low fidelity prototype that incorporates a hinge to swing the light upwards. We are now deciding between 3 different mechanisms to hold the light in the upward position. One uses a gate latch, one employs a similar mechanism to a reclining pool lounge chair with a bar that rests on notches, and another uses a pull-able knob that locks into place in an upward or horizontal position. Now that we have a low fidelity prototype built, we can visualize which method will be safe, effective and most feasible to produce here in Malawi.
-S