SUHEL DAHIWAL QUINN BOESLEY JAY MALLINSON

ENGGEN 770 Design Project Presentations:

Group 6

Background Common cause : Direct blow to chest due to car accident 1.2 million people killed every year (WHO report) At least 4 weeks to heal

Focus of the Systematic ReviewAim:To find evidence relating to the use of external rib

bracing for the treatment of rib fracture injuries Question:“For patients with non-flail rib fractures, how much

does the use of an external reinforcing member reduce the healing time compared with patients who don’t use any reinforcing.”

Population Intervention Comparison Outcome

Search strategy

Research Results

3 RCT’s (Quantitative)2 Case and 1 cohort studies (Qualitative)

Pain relief using RIB BELTS - Two groups (pain relief tablets and rib belts) - 25 % reduction in pain (pain scale) - Low sample size (no statistical difference

P=0.28)

Pulmonary complications

Design Requirements

Limit torso movement to reduce patients pain

Minimise impact on respiratory function

Widely applicable to a variety of patients

Be easy to use

Initial Concepts

Compression Shirt / Singlet

Rigid Support with Elastic Binding

Rib Belt with Light Material over Intercostal

Initial Concepts Continued

Multiple Rib BeltsInjection Moulded / 3D Printed

Adhesive Patch with Polymer Inserts

Combined MART Analysis

Initial Prototyping

• Difficult to stretch foam across rib injury

Elastic Foam Top

Velcro Base

Adhesive on underside

Prototype Development

Cut-outs in Foam for more Elasticity

Experimental Setup

Compare the force at a point applied by our prototype to that applied by a circumferential belt.

Calibrating the Sensor

V

Piezo-Resistive Sensor Schematic

Test Protocol Mount sensor

Apply compression device

Sample force measurements

Test Results

Test Applied Force (N)

Rib Belt 609Rib Belt > 800Velcro Base Only

216

Velcro + Foam 316Velcro + Foam 342Velcro + Foam 483Velcro Base Only

471

Velcro + Foam 589Velcro + Foam > 800

Conclusions and Future Considerations

Achieved comparable force (800 N) at a point with both the rib belt and our prototype.

More realistic testing analogue.

Experiment with different materials and shapes for the Velcro attachment.