Senior Design(Capstone)

The first part of the project was to determine what was actually needed by the EMS providers for use of the mask. Visits were made to various EMS stations and centers, like Foxwall and Shaler-Hampton stations and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Emergency Medicine. Talking to the various EMTs helped us formulate potential solutions for the need of a better fitting mask. 

 Using the information obtained from the EMS providers and our own brainstorming session, several potential solutions were considered. Sketches were created from these discussions(as seen below)) These sketches were then shown to the EMS providers who all preferred the foam idea.   

As part of our Design History File (DHF), all of the related documentations to the project, which includes risk analyses, ethnography plan/report, and use cases/user needs,  were created. I personally assisted in some aspect on all of these files.  

Following  the discussion with EMS personnel regarding the sketches of potential solutions, we decided to focus on the foam idea. Several iterations of the foam mask prototypes were made. The first mask had foam placed into the plastic cuff around the mask, the second had gel beads in this cuff, the third mask replaced the cuff with a piece of foam, and the final prototype for the semester had two layers of foam(different foam types) replace the cuff.  The gel beads mask worked well but sealing of the beads was an issue an could introduce more potential risks.  The first two foam masks did work well according to EMS personnel but we were told that some improvements could still be made as it was still a bit difficult to get a good seal of the mask on the testing mannequins. To solve this we used a softer foam on the surface for the face to be conformed to and a stiffer piece of foam on top to ensure that the EMS provider can place enough force on the mask with ease. The final mask prototype that was used involved the use of medium density foam and a coating of silicone dragon skin over it to ensure there was no leakage of air through the mask. 

Verification testing was used to determine whether the design inputs met their specified roles. The verification roles included functionality, dimensionality, fluid resistance, and material specification. Functionality was to ensure that the device functioned as specified, dimensionality ensured that the mask was the correct size, fluid resistance ensured the mask could withstand fluid, and material specification ensured that the proper materials were used for the mask. Unfortunately the verification tests set up for all of these verification points were not passed. 

Validation testing was conducted to determine whether the production equivalent met the needs of the target audience which were medical professionals. The validation points that were addressed included: Device Quality and Wear Resistance to check whether the mask could withstand the conditions it would typically be used in, Device Usability which checked for whether the medical workers could use the mask, and Device Functionality which checked for whether the medical workers believed the mask could carry out its proper function. These validation tests were completed by having medical professionals using the mask on mannequins and then filling out a survey regarding the different aspects of the mask.