Third Meeting (April 19, 2012)
This week, the group conducted two interviews with constituents suffering from COPD (these interviews can be found in the previous posts).
Further changed our orgiinal design. The newly proposed ideas included using a wedge as a building block and devising a mechanism to elevate the pillow when necessary. After consulting with Dr. Allen, the group considered including a pulse oximeter with the design. This would be used if a patient woke up in the middle of the night. The patient could then test their oxygen levels to determine whether the pillow needs to be adjusted.
As of this week, many ideas were proposed. The group's initial idea was to have a motor raise the pillow which later changed to having a conveyor belt mechanism with an attached ball that would move up and down, raising or lowering the pillow as necessary. Another idea was to have the patient manually stuff the pillow to raise or lower the height of it. These ideas were discounted because they would have had to be implemented inside the pillow and would thus be uncomfortable. Additionally, the motor could be a potential source of noise during the night, and manually stuffing the pillow would be labor intensive.
The group decided on one final idea. A wedge pillow would be used as a building block. The base of the wedge pillow would have a beach-chair mechanism attached to it. This would allow the patient to raise or lower the pillow if necessary.
This week, the group conducted two interviews with constituents suffering from COPD (these interviews can be found in the previous posts).
Further changed our orgiinal design. The newly proposed ideas included using a wedge as a building block and devising a mechanism to elevate the pillow when necessary. After consulting with Dr. Allen, the group considered including a pulse oximeter with the design. This would be used if a patient woke up in the middle of the night. The patient could then test their oxygen levels to determine whether the pillow needs to be adjusted.
As of this week, many ideas were proposed. The group's initial idea was to have a motor raise the pillow which later changed to having a conveyor belt mechanism with an attached ball that would move up and down, raising or lowering the pillow as necessary. Another idea was to have the patient manually stuff the pillow to raise or lower the height of it. These ideas were discounted because they would have had to be implemented inside the pillow and would thus be uncomfortable. Additionally, the motor could be a potential source of noise during the night, and manually stuffing the pillow would be labor intensive.
The group decided on one final idea. A wedge pillow would be used as a building block. The base of the wedge pillow would have a beach-chair mechanism attached to it. This would allow the patient to raise or lower the pillow if necessary.
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