Dysphagia Cup
Biomedical Engineering Capstone
Fall 2023 - Ongoing (2024)
This project focuses on redesigning a drinking device for patients suffering with dysphagia and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Simply explained, these patients have difficulty swallowing liquids, as well suffer from impulsivity causing them to drink suddenly and choke.
The inspiration for this Project came from Dr. Edward A. Burton, who is also giving us feedback throughout this project. The wife of one of his patients suffering from Dysphagia found she was able to get her husband to drink safely if she pinched his straw between small sips. Dr. Burton came to CMU on her behalf looking for a better solution.
Our goal is to design a cup that only delivers a set bolus of fluid at a time, and can be locked by a caretaker to improve quality of life and drinking independence of the patient.
As a designer, I worked alongside engineers as an advocate for the patient. My responsibilities included setting design goals, presentation, mechanism functionality, as well as prototyping.
Meet the team:
Evette LaComb - Design
Stanley (Yu-Hin) IP - Design
Emily Lannen - Chemical E.
Timothy Yang - Biomed, Material E.
Christina Tavlarakis - Biomed E.
Erin Magid - Biomed, Mechanical E.
Somya Pathak - Biomed, Electrical E.
Zoe Phares - Biomed, Mechanical E.
Prototype 0:
Original design with electronic compartment in the bottom and cup holder base.
Our first mechanism designs
For Prototype 0, we first considered making an electronic mechanism using a peristaltic pump or a mechanical mechanism taking from the design features of the Safe Straw integrated into our cup design.
We decided the electronic design would be overcomplicated, hard to clean and expensive.
After purchasing and testing existing products, we found the mechanism of the Safe straw unreliable and clunky and decided to take inspiration from the RiJe cup instead.
Prototype 1:
Evette LaComb 2023
For Prototype 1, I worked on the Cup locking mechanism. The cup has metal ball between the two lid pieces. When the Lid wheel is turned a metal marble falls into a chamber locking the lid to both base pieces. A magnet key must be used to lift up the marble to turn the lid again to unlock it.
This design is intuitive and unobtrusive to the cup as a whole. The cup could be tampered with if turned upside down, so we are hoping to do further iteration and testing.
Lid Iteration 1
The first iteration of the lock originally locked around the straw, which would also be locked into the bottom of the cup. This made sense for the electronic design, but was quickly redesigned to fit the outside of the walls, ultimately making more sense and providing more stability.
Lid Iteration 2
All Lid CAD was done by Evette LaComb 2023 Cup Cad was done by Erin Magid, and Zoe Phares
More Coming, Project ongoing...