Needle Capper

The goal for the team was to interview and shadow a working professional for a day to identify various problems and inefficiencies in their day to day processes and understand why it was inconvenient. The team was to then used to create a new product that solved one of the inefficiencies identified.

Interview and Shadowing

Our team decided to shadow a local dentist for an afternoon. After the time spent there, multiple opportunities for improvement became apparent. The team sketched concepts for a few but given the time and budget available, the team decided to tackle a needle safety product.

In order for the hygienist to recap a used needle, they must use the tip of the needle to fish the cap up off the table. Once the cap is covering the tip of the needle, the hygienist can then use their other hand to secure the cap and properly dispose of it. This process is slow and requires attention to be shifted from the procedure to this menial task. It also goes against the natural instinct to pick up the cap and secure it, similar to capping a pen.

So the team set out to create a new product that allows the user to quickly and safely recap a needle.

Sketching

The team began by individually ideating on the new safety device and then pulled together to review all of the ideas.

All of the ideas were distilled into two features to design the new device around:

A shield to protect the hand.
Tapered fingers that hold the cap when not in use.

Version 1

The team started modeling the first iteration in CAD, taking the two concepts from the sketches, and combining them into one device.

To use the device, the hygienist would insert the needle into the top hole and slide the tab up. This slides a tapered insert that pinches the two teeth and grabs onto the cap. The needle is then removed and used as needed. To recap, insert the needle back into the cap and slide the tab down to release the grip.

The large shield protects the hand and the pinching mechanism inside securely holds the cap until it is needed again.

The resulting design consisted of five different parts.

Version 1.5

After reviewing Version 1 with the dentist we initially shadowed, he gave us some feedback to modify the design. He said that the shield was probably larger than it needed to be.

"If you can't hit that target, you have no business putting a needle into a patient." -Local Dentist

The shield was converted to a circle to reduce the visual bulk and given a flat edge to prevent the device from rolling around. The shield was also integrated into the main body dropping the part count to four.

The size of the tab on the slider was increased to make it easier to operate.

The group then printed this design on an FDM printer.

Version 2

After presenting Version 1.5, our professor gave us some feedback to try and reduce the overall part count.

So with that in mind, we set out to continue to refine the design. The final result was reduced down to one part that had the potential to be easily molded.

The first major change was giving the shield a steep angle. This allowed the device to lay flat and fit comfortably in a coat pocket, while still protecting the hand.

The other being the taper feature was integrated into the main body and two cutouts placed on the sides. Instead of using the sliding mechanism, the cutouts let the fingers directly grip the cap when uncapping/recapping and the tapered wall securely holds the cap in place when the device is resting on a surface.

This design was also printed out on an FDM printer.