DEASY - The easy de-blistering device
Authors
Vetner, Emil Brorson ; Schmidt, Kamilla Strand-Holm
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Submitted on
2024-05-30
Pages
142
Abstract
I Danmark, som i mange andre lande, er det offentlige sundhedsvæsen under pres, fordi der mangler sygeplejersker. En væsentlig årsag er et stressende arbejdsmiljø, som belaster medarbejderne både fysisk og mentalt. Med en Design Thinking-tilgang med gentagne skift mellem at sprede (undersøge mange muligheder) og samle (indsnævre og forfine) idéer identificerede projektet en særlig tidskrævende, smertefuld og fejlbehæftet opgave: manuel afpakning af tablet- og kapselmedicin fra blisterpakker og efterfølgende dosering. Plejepersonale, herunder sygeplejersker og farmakonomer, kan håndtere 600–700 tabletter om dagen. For at afhjælpe dette er DEASY udviklet som en automatiseret afpakningsenhed. Gennem brugerundersøgelser, dybdegående research, idéudvikling og detaljeret realisering er DEASY designet til at reducere omkring 80 procent af den fysiske belastning forbundet med at trykke medicin ud af blisterpakker. DEASY registrerer blisterpakker med flere rækker, tilpasser sine indre mekanismer derefter og udpakker tabletter og kapsler til en særlig doseringsbakke, som effektiviserer doseringstiden. Målet er at give plejepersonalet en pålidelig løsning, der øger komfort, kontrol og effektivitet. Projektet rejser også spørgsmål til den nuværende standardisering af blisterpakker og peger på, at eksisterende standarder kan være for lidt repræsentative. Forbedringer heraf kan understøtte mere effektiv dosering og dermed bedre patientbehandling.
In Denmark, as in many countries, the public healthcare system is under strain because there are too few nurses. A major reason is a stressful work environment that puts both physical and mental pressure on staff. Using a Design Thinking process with repeated cycles of diverging (exploring many options) and converging (narrowing and refining), this project identified a particularly time-consuming, painful, and error-prone task: the manual de-blistering and dispensing of tablet and capsule medicines. Caregivers, including nurses and pharmaconomists (pharmacy technicians), may handle 600–700 tablets per day. To address this, we developed DEASY, an automated de-blistering device. Through user studies, in-depth research, concept development, and detailed realization, DEASY is designed to reduce about 80% of the physical workload involved in removing medicines from blister packs. DEASY recognizes blister packs with multiple rows, adjusts its internal mechanics accordingly, and extracts tablets and capsules into a designated dispensing tray that speeds up the dispensing process. The aim is to offer a reliable solution that improves comfort, control, and efficiency for caregivers. The project also questions current blister pack standardization, suggesting that existing standards may be too unrepresentative. Improving these standards could support more efficient dispensing and improved patient care.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords
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