jlenoach Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Hi everyone, My name is Jordan, I'm an electrical engineering student at Stanford University. I have had some experience building basic medical devices such as EEGs and I am currently searching for more novel ideas to pursue. For those of you who are experienced in any field of medicine, what are some of the problems and difficulties you typically face that could perhaps be solved with some device that does not exist yet? For example, my father who is an orthopedist has lately been trying to convince me that a multi-transducer ultrasound machine specialized for bone imaging would be something useful in disaster relief and military orthopedics due to the lack of portability of X-ray machines. Any suggestions, ideas, or comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! -Jordan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 16, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2011 A pulse oximeter that works well for wiggly little kids....my idea..."the pulse socks"...a pair of socks with little sensors in each toe pocket of the socks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewtonsApple Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 thats a good idea, patent that idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 "Smart Ventilators" that are portable and durable. A vent that will keep track of end tidal CO2 and pulse ox, changing it's own concentration/rate of oxygen delivery to keep patients within a set of parameters. Has to be small, portable, and durable, and cheap. (I know, fantasy). The idea is mass casualty scenes such as terrorist attacks or Haitian style earthquakes, a few providers can ventilate/oxygenate a large mass of people. Automatic BP machines that talk to IV pumps to change rate of infusion in accordance to vascular needs. Hypotensive...more fluids. Hypertensive, KVO the rate. Get all the machines talking to each other and connected to a health care provider via wireless ie: smartphone. When the machines have deviate from their pre set delivery, they alert the human in the link to come double check things ie: tube obstruction/displacement. This extends the reach of the provider allowing them to care for more patients. In my fantasy these pieces of equipment would deploy with mass casualty response teams who already have caches of gear...bill it to Department of Homeland Security, allowing small departments to purchase them with grants from the Feds. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I would love for someone to design a handheld iPad like device that is linked to all charts and can be taken around and used and will automatically transfer the info to an electronic chart. Also, a vital sign machine that automatically logs the results (some glucose measuring devices do this already). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHAD Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I would love for someone to design a handheld iPad like device that is linked to all charts and can be taken around and used and will automatically transfer the info to an electronic chart. Also, a vital sign machine that automatically logs the results (some glucose measuring devices do this already). This stuff exists...it is just a matter of being cost effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 How about an ambulance cot and/or ER gurney that has a built in scale just like the grocery check out lane. Couple this with a small display to display the proper dosages of weight based drugs? This would be especially useful for peds. Would need to have a feature to "tare" the scale to deal with sheets, blankets, etc. Have no idea on how to accomplish this, but a vein locator that would work on the morbidly obese would be a big plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewtonsApple Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Have no idea on how to accomplish this, but a vein locator that would work on the morbidly obese would be a big plus. This has been done, take a look at this. Very cool technology http://www.carestreammedical.com/?page_id=74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrelight74 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Perhaps they have these; I just have not seen them yet. How about remote/bluetooth capable leads for EKGs? Stick the stickies on, let the EKG machine find them... no wires to get tangled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobramarty Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 How about an ambulance cot and/or ER gurney that has a built in scale just like the grocery check out lane. Couple this with a small display We have this in our ER and the batteries are flat and the nurses don't know how to use then and they have never been used even once since they were placed in the ER. "we were not inserviced on how to use them" is the response I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Automatic BP machines that talk to IV pumps to change rate of infusion in accordance to vascular needs. Hypotensive...more fluids. Hypertensive, KVO the rate. This would never work. Thank goodness human brains are smarter than computers in certain circumstances. Not all hypotension is hypovolemia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 How about an ambulance cot and/or ER gurney that has a built in scale just like the grocery check out lane. Couple this with a small display to display the proper dosages of weight based drugs? This would be especially useful for peds. Would need to have a feature to "tare" the scale to deal with sheets, blankets, etc. Have no idea on how to accomplish this, but a vein locator that would work on the morbidly obese would be a big plus. Hospital beds have built in scales. for veins: http://www.veinlite.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlenoach Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Perhaps they have these; I just have not seen them yet. How about remote/bluetooth capable leads for EKGs? Stick the stickies on, let the EKG machine find them... no wires to get tangled. Are the wires an inconvenience because they are strapped across the patient and directly get in the way of surgery or because they have to stretch across to the monitor or computer? As far as I know, eliminating the leads entirely is impossible because they are required to measure the voltage potential. The best you could do is something like this: http://www.lifesynccorp.com/products/leadwear.html Their system looks fairly bulky though. Texas instruments recently released a cool integrated circuit called the ADS1298 that is basically an entire EKG system in a chip that's less than a square centimeter. With the small size of it, I'm wondering if the EKG system could be embedded into something that makes it less of a hassle to deal with and then transmit the data wirelessly. For example, it could be embedded in hospital gowns with dry electrode straps around the wrists and waist. Or maybe underneath the beds so that the wires go behind the patient rather than over. Would that solve the wire inconvenience problem you think? Thanks for all of the ideas so far everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I vote for a spring-loaded auto-injector (think Epi-Pen) containing Haldol and Ativan; every member of the ED staff can carry one so you always have it handy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I vote for a spring-loaded auto-injector (think Epi-Pen) containing Haldol and Ativan; every member of the ED staff can carry one so you always have it handy! That's the best idea I've heard so far. Agi-stat? Pen-delirium? Code Strong? I'll go 50-50. My service would go through a few each week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 There was a study two years ago using a 4-point electrical nerve stimulator (both occipital nerves and both supra-orbital nerves) that had profound reduction in headache frequency and severity. The problem was that the electrodes were surgically placed on those nerves and there was a high occurrence of infections and lead migration. I think a trans-dermal lead placement could work and would save a lot of the "headaches." It should be simple and I've experimented with modified TENS unit, placing directly over these nerves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 This would never work. Thank goodness human brains are smarter than computers in certain circumstances. Not all hypotension is hypovolemia. I agree completely that a human needs to be involved in the chain and that not all hypotension is hypovolemia. In the fantasy I was proposing though, the patient population exposed to my crazy idea would be primarily from a traumatic scene where things such as heart failure and the like may not rate as high on the triage scale. The fantasy is based on acute need in a non hospital setting where the people in need outweigh the personal to supply it. Of course, it's all a brainstorm and lively discussions and further brainstorming can distill things down to a very usable concept. I think the major issue in developing ideas is funding. Even if such a device can be made, could agencies afford to buy it when it would only be used in the case of "the big one". Of course if that same machine could input data in the e-pt care report automatically during routine transports, then one could justify using it more often... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Mike you should do that yourself and patent it....rich man, rich man...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.