Vaginal Speculum Medical Device Design
Background
About
This project was completed as a part of my graduate studies at Duke University. Throughout this page, you will learn about the journey in developing the redesign of the vaginal speculum. I am passionate about improving women's healthcare experiences and was excited to be able to dedicated efforts to creating a more comfortable and user-friendly speculum. This exciting journey brings forth the importance of revolutionizing women's healthcare.
Project Journey:
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Research female pelvic examinations and the history of the medical device.
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Identify clinical needs within the setting.
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Create design ideas and solutions within the device.
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Redesign the vaginal speculum.
Sketching:
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Research past designs of speculums
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Take inspiration from other objects in the world as potential designs
First Iteration
Once I had completed research on the vaginal speculum, I began a first iteration of design. The overall form of the device was similar to the original design. There were additional internal walls placed in the upper and lower pieces to aid in expansion for the physician.
First
ITERATION
Second Iteration
After discussions with stakeholders and other engineers, I changed various aspects of the design. The additional piece at the top was to improve ergonomic use of the medical device by the physician. The motion of opening and closing changed slightly as well. This would potentially aid in the open-close mechanism as whole while decreasing pinching potential to the patient. This was a key concern in the previous design, but ended up not being fully addressed by this iteration as pinching could still occur.
SECOND
ITERATION
PIVOT: INFLATABLE REDESIGN
After researching the issues with the current design of the speculum, I ended up pivoting the design to better address the needs of the patient and physician. This is where the inflatable design was ideated. This design allows for an outer lining to be added for cleanliness. The inflatable design decreases potential pinching which focuses on customer experience. The use of different materials also addresses the anxieties around a "cold" device being placed vaginally.
Third
ITERATION
