Drainage Bag Holder
A handy gadget to hold the drainage bag on the infusion tube
PROJECT YEAR
2020
LOCATION
Roeselare, Belgium
PROJECT TYPE
User Centered Design & Product Design
DESIGN TEAM
Amber Eghermanne & Gertjan Van Oevelen
PROJECT DURATION
5 months
CLIENT
AZ Delta Hospital
This project was developed in collaboration with: TEN Agency, The Urology- Gynecology Department at AZ Delta Hospital, The Design For Everyone Lab, The Industrial Design Center (IDC) at Howest University of Applied Sciences & Ghent University, as part of the “Makerhealth Program”.
The goal was to design a product that could help both the nurse and the patient to hold the drainage bag on the infusion tubing in a more comfortable way, solving ergonomics problems and improving their experience when using this device.
There are two standard sizes for the urine bag, the small one, which is used when the patient does not receive a bladder wash, and the big one, which is used for continuous bladder cleaning. Although there is a system for hanging the small bag from the legs, it is usually used at home with a limited flow rate of 400 ml. On the other hand, the large bag can collect up to 5 liters of urine but most of the time it is emptied when 3 liters of urine have been reached.
A drainage bag is usually placed when a patient goes to the Urologist and needs a bladder catheter. The bag is attached to the catheter tube to collect the patient's urine and monitor its flow. There are many cases in which patients have to use a catheter, some of the most common are: when the patient cannot longer urinate, when they cannot empty their bladder completely, when they have reduced mobility (e.g. in case of a serious condition or after surgery) or, if they have urine incontinence (inability to control the evacuation of urine).
Context
The problem was not only faced by patients but also by nurses and medical staff, so we divided the problem into two main parts.
The problem for the patient was that he had reduced mobility. If he wanted to go for a walk or simply go to the bathroom, he had to carry the drainage bag with one hand and the infusion tube with the other. At that moment, patients were placing the drainage bag on the floor (when going to the bathroom) or just carrying it around (when walking on the hallway) which caused some inconveniences such as: unhygienic stages, limited mobility, among others.
The problem for the nurses and medical staff was that they had to check the level of urine in the bag and empty it into a clear plastic jug to keep track of the exact amount of liquid collected and examine its color. This process ended when the assistant emptied the jug into the toilet.
At that time the nurses solved the problem by placing the bag on the infusion tubing with some bandages but, it was a slow and not very functional process.
The problem
Ethnographic
Research
During this phase we applied different tools to better understand our user needs, starting with a field visit to the hospital to make some interviews. Then we made a Root Cause Analysis, evaluating what could be causing the problems for the patient and the nurse, and try to come up with the best solution. Further more, we made a benchmark of the existing products that could help us #### and a Function Tree
1. The drainage bag had to be below hip height as medical requirement, when it goes higher than the hips it can cause an infection, due to the flow of urine going back into the bladder.
2.We should consider leaving a space to place the medication dispensers in the infusion tube.
3.The nurse always had to go low if she wanted to empty the bag, which in turn was not very ergonomic.
Insights
How could we design a product that improves the user experience when using a drainage bag, holding it from the infusion tube and using items that we use on a daily basis?
List of demands
1. We had to be aware of patient´s mobility.
2. Ergonomics had to be improved for patients, nurses, and all medical staff.
3. It had to always remain hygienic, as the product had to adopt the hospital´s hygiene protocols.
4. It had to have smooth surfaces.
5. It had to help the nurses by improving the emptying process, so it had to be adjustable.
6. We had to avoid the use of screws or sharp edges that could damage the bag or put the patient’s safety at risk.
7. It had to be something that could help any user to hang the bag.
8. The product had to be easy to use by multiple users, saving time for nurses and streamlining the process.
9. Production costs had to be kept as los as possible, so it had to be made from few and simple parts.
10. It had to be an intuitive design, so that anyone could use it quickly and safely.
Ideation
Prototyping
Final Concept
Our final solution was to design a clamp to hold the bag on the infusion pole. We ended up designing a product made out of one main piece, avoiding holes and screws because that may cause the product to be more expensive and unhygienic.
With this solution the patient could easily place his drainage bag, and the nurse could easily adjust the clamp, emptying the bag more efficiently.
It had an anti-slip inner layer, avoiding the clamp to fall of from the pole.
We adapted the wings of the clamp so that when the urine bag is hanging from it, it clamps itself automatically, even more tightly around the standard.
We made some adjustments, making the clamp higher so it could have a better grip to the stand, preventing it from falling off. In addition, we opted for a zigzag opening for safety, in case the clamp opened.
If you want to see more details about this project, you can watch this video.
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