Hi,
<br />
<br />Some considerations with percussor designs:
<br />- eventually all people with cf get osteoporosis - and since people are living longer with CF - finding a form of physical therapy that is easy on the bones is a consideration. - the frequencer seems like a good choice (using ultrasound) for this problem, but as someone has noted, the fact that your hands are occupied holding it definitely limits its usefulness.
<br />- some people on this forum have noted that massage - from a massage therapist - is more effective in getting the mucous out of the lungs. I know one person who could no longer tolerate percussion/vests uses a massage chair.
<br />- reaching all the lobes by yourself is important (because some people may need to be self-sufficient). The massagers with handles work okay for this, but it is still tiring holding on to these things for a significant period of time per day.
<br />- having your hands-free is wonderful, because you can do other things, including doing other therapies such as nebulizer therapies. Otherwise you're stuck doing therapy more hours per day.
<br />- you know how you can use laptops in Europe and in North America, without worrying about the current? You need this in your design to make it easy for us to travel without lugging a heavy converter.
<br />- it should not overheat when used for long periods of time.
<br />- works for anyone from babies to eighty-year olds.
<br />- works no matter how much padding you have on your chest (a problem with some devices).
<br />- is not painful, but soothing.
<br />- I don't know if people feel that a built-in timer would be worthwhile - either that you could set so you spend x amount of time on each lobe or for x amount of time for the whole treatment.
<br />- Easy to clean/keep sterile and no nooks and crannies where it's hard to clean.
<br />- Can it fold or collapse?
<br />- no allergenic materials or materials that outgass as many people with CF have an allergic component to their set of symptoms.
<br />-Carrycase for travel/work.
<br />-Extremely lightweight because folks may need to carry it with a lot of other supplies, a briefcase, etc.
<br />- Quiet for when you need to do this at an early hour and not disturb others.
<br />- Ergonomic and a good cord that does not get tangled - if a cord is even necessary. (Maybe an efficient battery would be really helpful for people who wish to use it backpacking and camping.)
<br />- I don't know if people have any water resistant requirements. Might be helpful if a waterproof case is not provided.
<br />- should be able to drop it without sustaining damage .
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<br />Have you considered using survey monkey to design a survey to ask more detailed questions about what people's requirements might be, how often they would use it, how many hours of therapy they do?
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<br />This is a great design project, but have you thought about perhaps expanding your notion of what device would be helpful?
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<br />In my dreams, Steve Jobs would take on a little side-project, miniaturizing some kind of uber-great iVest that has ultrasound in massage like waves, works no matter what country you're in, no matter how big or small you are, hasamazing battery charge with almost no weight, can easily be washed/sterilized, and is so cool that kids/adults without cf really want one.it shrinks donw to the size of an air book and weighs about the same
Oh, and is mass-marketed to people with COPD and many other conditions that require lung clearance and firefighters and emergency management staff (who need to clear their lungs from exposures) to bring the cost down to a price that is in the range that most households could afford them- maybe even to clear elderly folks chest colds so they don't get pneumonia. (Medical devices are priced outrageously and are nowhere near as ergonomic as anything that Apple makes.)
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<br />Since I'm dreaming in technicolour here, I may as well add that the quality assurance department needs to make sure that you can run this thing all night (yes some people need that) and you can also run it for hours at a time in rooms where someone is nebulizing Tobi, Albuterol, Pulmozyme and/or Mucomyst. And the controls should be easy to use and easy to program (tested by a usability team and CF users). If you get any bites from either Apple or the Gates foundation, I'll offer my services to design the usability goals/tests
.
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<br />Also - allow resale of the devices to people. Currently, you drop 12-15,000 on a vest and that's it, you can't sell it. Law prevents that.
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<br />One final thing - reliability - very important.(e.g., if there's a program, it needs good quality assurance to make sure there are no "system device errors" that keep the machine from operating.)
