Golden Capsule
Medicine-injection device optimised for emergency disaster scenarios
Golden Capsule is a non-powered medicine-injection device optimised for emergency rescuers in disaster scenarios. Replacing gravity-driven systems, it employs elastic force and air pressure to consistently administer medicine, without relying on electricity or manual effort.
Its transparent shell encases a medicine-filled balloon, and the device can be easily adjusted for injection speed, even achieving full-drip rates required in emergencies. Easily attachable to stretchers, it enhances rescuer efficiency, eliminating the need to manually hold intravenous packs.
March 2023 - December 2023
Product Design, Team Project
Convergence Design Project, Hongik University (Graduation Work for Design Engineering Major)
Inspiration
In 2023, a Turkish-Syrian earthquake occured. We observed that someone close to the patient must continue holding the IV packs through several news videos.
In a disaster rescue site, most of the people rescued from the disaster must be prescribed fluids while being transported to a treatment facilities. It is difficult to move through harsh environments while carrying several intravenous packs in their hands. This is because the actual disaster site is filled with the pile of rubble or mud. Even aftershocks continue to occur. And it’s almost impossible to carry IV packs high in a narrow space where a building has collapsed or in a mountainous terrain. Therefore, we decided to design a new intravenous pump that could be operate without power, because the electricity is not available at the disaster site.
Insights
To verify the problem related to IV prescriptions at the disaster site, we interviewed experts with actual rescue experience. We obtained following insights on the real-world situation from emergency medical doctors and nurses.
Nurse Xiao Yuanying
“Rescuers must hold two or more IV packs at the same time.”
Nurse Heqing
“IV packs are often carried by rescuers, but it is difficult to hold for a long time.”
Doctor Choi
“Most of survivors should be prescribed IVs as much as possible.”
Doctor Yang Xiaoqin
“Those who hold the IV pack must hold it for more than 30 minutes, so it is hard to hold it by hand.”
Nurse Xiao Yuanying
“Traditional IV setups cannot reach over full-drip rates, so we need to squeez IV bags manually.”
“There is a power-based infusion pump, but it is not used often. Because the electricity is usually not available in the disaster site.”
Design Goals
— Second,
“It must operate without electricity.”
— First,
“It must operate regardless of height difference.”
— Third,
“It must have appropriate materials or methods suitable for disaster sites.”