Whole Team Contributions

BRAINSTORMING AND MATERIAL SELECTION

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After conducting individual research, we explored several concepts to improve comfort and ease of use for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Upon evaluating which ideas best suited our client’s requests, we incorporated two key design elements into our final ostomy appliance prototype:

1. Moldable Baseplate

   We selected a baseplate material that can be easily shaped and molded with minimal hand dexterity. This is particularly beneficial for users experiencing joint pain, as it reduces the strain required to properly secure the appliance against the skin.

2. Drawstring Mechanism

   Instead of relying on a traditional clamp—which can be difficult to operate for those with arthritis—we integrated a drawstring closure to seal the ostomy bag. This feature greatly minimizes hand effort and allows for quicker, less painful appliance replacements.

In addition, we introduced HTV-SR (High Temperature Vulcanized Silicone Rubber) as our novel material choice. It forms the primary component of the moldable baseplate, enabling a flexible yet durable interface that can better accommodate users with compromised hand function.

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Figure 1: A sketch highlighting the key components of our design that minimize joint pain for our client. The area shaded in blue represents the HTV-SR baseplate.

PROTOTYPE ASSEMBLY

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After finalizing our design, we moved on to assembling the various components and integrating them into a cohesive prototype:

• Drawstring:

  To create a user-friendly drawstring closure, we threaded a string through a narrow cloth channel and attached it to the ostomy bag.

• Locking Pegs:

  Using Autodesk Inventor, we modeled both the pegs and the corresponding rim, then 3D-printed these parts. We attached the pegs to the skin barrier and the rim to the ostomy bag, allowing the two parts to lock together to create a firm seal.

• HTV-SR Baseplate (Prototype Representation):

  Although our final design calls for HTV-SR (High Temperature Vulcanized Silicone Rubber), we opted to use playdoh in our prototype to illustrate how a moldable baseplate would look and feel. This helped us demonstrate how the baseplate can conform to the user’s body while requiring minimal hand dexterity for application.

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Figure 2: 3D print of the locking mechanism in action.

Personal Contributions

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Administrative Responsibilities: Subject Matter Expert

• I gathered, organized, and maintained a comprehensive database of all the articles, textbooks, and online references that were used throughout the duration of our project. Each entry was cited in IEEE format.
• After the team completed our project summary, I shared the relevant document with our professors. </aside>

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Introduced the Initial Drawstring Mechanism Idea

• Recognizing the challenges that users with limited hand dexterity might face, I proposed the drawstring mechanism as a more user-friendly alternative to the conventional clamp-based closure. My initial sketches and explanations laid the groundwork for subsequent discussions and prototyping of a key feature of our final ostomy appliance. </aside>