Student Projects Redesigning the Neonatal ICU 2014

09/23/14 Oral Hygiene Challenge:

Students partnered up and interviewed each other for 12 minutes. They took the insights they learned from their partner and created a POV in 4 minutes. Then, they generated solution sketches based on their point of view in 11 minutes. They had the opportunity to present their sketches to their partner and receive feedback 8 minutes. Once they received that feedback they moved into building mode, creating a low-resolution prototype in 12 minutes that incorporated the feedback from their partner, therefore refining a chosen solution sketch. Afterwards we debriefed for 15 minutes to discuss the prototypes and the challenges students faced during this process.

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Evan’s POV: Jackie needs a better way to keep her hands free during brushing because she likes to do other things while cleaning her teeth.

My solution is “HAT,” a Hands-free Automatic Toothbrush.

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Mikkel’s POV: Sarah needs a better way to know when to switch toothbrush because it is hard for her to decide when it is time and hygiene is important to her.

My solution is “The mail-order toothbrush” is a subscription based service where Sarah will receive a new toothbrush at the appropriate time so Sarah doesn’t need to consider when it is time for the change. Possible extra feature: The brushes change color according to the bacteria level in the brushes, to visualize that a new brush is needed (and is on its way).

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Graeme’s POV: Iris needs a better way to keep her electronic toothbrush charge station clean because it restricts her willingness to travel with her electric brush.

My solution is a “cleaning charger station carrier.”

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Rae’s POV: Michelle needs a better way to keep her oral hygiene materials neat because she is always cleaning/correcting them.

My solution is a “pump bottle” for toothpaste.

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Suhui’s POV: Neal needs a better way to remember to brush his teeth, because he feels brushing his teeth is trivial.

My solution consists of a smart container and a “retainer-ish” cleaner for cleaning his teeth on the go. The smart container also serves as an alarm to remind Neal when he needs to clean his teeth. He can discard the retainer-ish cleaner after each user. The cleaners can be replenished.

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Maryam’s POV: Justin needs a better way to objectively gauge whether his teeth are really clean, because right now he only has subjective opinions about how clean his mouth feels after brushing.

My solution is “See Clean” Foaming Toothpaste. This product allows a user to understand how clean their mouth really is by the color the toothpaste turns after brushing.

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Cesare’s POV: Natalie needs a better way to form a habit of brushing her teeth in the morning because her normal routine of drinking her morning coffee on her way to class has prevented her from developing such a habit.

My solution is a coffee mug insulator that holds your favorite oral-hygiene equipment inside. You would have the option of including a toothbrush/paste, gum or some mouthwash. The insulator also includes space for things like meal cards, keys etc. and attaches by way of Velcro to fit snugly around whatever container you care to carry your coffee in.

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Hyunseung’s POV: Stephen needs a better way to keep his electric tooth brush clean, because it is difficult to wash small spaces of the brush head that have many connections, grooves, gaps, etc.

My solution is eliminating features that help connect the toothbrush body and head by incorporating a magnet connection so the two joining surfaces are flat and easily washable.

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Steven’s POV: Dwayne needs a better way to clean his teeth outside of his dorm room bathroom, because he eats breakfast after he brushes, and often doesn’t have time to brush before leaving his dorm in the morning.

My solution is a toothbrush that has a built in tank of water than can be used for brushing and rinsing so that the user does not have to be near a water source in order to brush.

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Melissa’s POV: Maddy needs a better way to remember to floss because she uses a communal bathroom and doesn’t like flossing around others.

My solution is a floss dispenser is designed to stick inside a toilet stall door for residents’ use. It dispenses different types of floss and includes a mirror and receptacle for throwing away used floss.

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Jiakun’s POV; Evan needs a better way to floss with a permanent retainer because it’s hard to reach underneath the retainer and a threader needle sometimes hurts the gum.

My solution is to use a retainer in the shape of pulse-wave which leaves space between teeth so that the floss can reach the gum.

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Neal’s POV: Suhui needs a better way to brush effectively when tired because she lets the automatic toothbrush do the work when she’s tired but feels manual brushing is more effective.

My Solution is The Shake-Weight Toothbrush

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Josh’s POV: Sual needs a better way to sanitize his toothbrush because he has to throw it away after he is sick.

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Justin’s POV: Maryam needs a better way to floss on the go without a mirror because she flosses frequently at unpredictable times and it is difficult to floss thoroughly with her retainer when she can’t see inside her mouth.

My solution is a portable flossing mirror. A floss module that attaches to the back of compact makeup mirrors so that users do not have to carry around a separate mirror and can still floss easily on the go.

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09/30/14

Persona Development Project

To start, we gave each student group a pile of photos. Each pile represented a character and his/her life. I had chosen photos to represent a NICU nurse, neonatologist, mother and father. Photos of the person, where they lived, meals or snacks they ate, the inside of their refrigerator, closet, car, where they go, what they do…etc. Students were asked to develop the character through observing the photos carefully and crafting a persona. From there, they were asked to craft 3 questions that would help them uncover a problem, define a point of view and finally create a solution for their character based on needs they imagined.

Students had about 45 minutes to do this exercise from start to finish. Deliverables included:

• A title to sum up the essence in as few words as possible.

• A picture to articulate their insight from analyzing the photos and imagining answers to their field guide questions.

• Three questions they created to construe those insights.

• A skit to show a potential solution to their character’s need.

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FINAL PROJECT KICKS OFF 11/6/14: Synthesis, POVs/HMW, & Prototype #1

Noise Reduction/Alarms) Cesare Jenkins – Josh Feler – Dwayne Hong