ThermaVest
RYOBI Design Competition
Industrial Design • Product Design • Medical Devices
Brief
Take RYOBI’s core battery technologies and apply it to a new industry to expand its markets.
Market Opportunity:
Emergency Response (EMS)
In emergency medical situations that involve cases of hypothermia, treatment of the patient becomes a race against time. Currently, no individual solution exists to treat hypothermia in the field.
Research
Each year in the United States, about 1,330 people die of cold exposure. Although this number is significant, Cold-related illness and death are under-reported because only a small number are appropriately recognized and coded as hypothermia and tissue damage. Many cases are treated in the field on arrival of EMS and not all cases require a trip to a medical facility.
Currently, no specialized equipment exists to treat hypothermia patients in the field or during medevac to proper facilities. Existing EMS solutions are an amalgamation of different things.
Existing EMS treatment for hypothermia is a combination of these three products:
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Fleece blankets are kept on Ambulances for a variety of situations. Although they are useful, they occupy valuable storage space on the ambulance and, in cases of hypothermia, can only do so much to retain the heat of a hypothermic patient.
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Mylar space blankets are effective and compact solution. They take up very little space and sufficiently reflect body heat back towards a patient. For hypothermic patients, the issue arises when active rewarming techniques are required for treatment.
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Currently, instant warm compresses are used when active rewarming techniques are required to treat hypothermia patients in the field. The issue with a warm compress is there is no way to control the heat generated - leaving EMS to constantly remove and reposition it around a patient to avoid burns.
Concept
Over the course of several iterations, I landed upon a vest that combined the benefits of a multi-product rewarming treatment. The vest (designed specifically to be easily secured to a patient regardless of their consciousness) includes a continuous, two-panel nichrome heating element around the body’s core, powered by 2 RYOBI Tek4 batteries for active rewarming.
The exterior of the vest is made of insulating neoprene and lined with a heat reflective mylar fabric for passive rewarming. The vest utilizes both passive and active rewarming technology in order to provide a complete treatment solution for hypothermia patients.
Final Design
