Project 1 - Design and Development of Crutch ( Medical Technology)
Task 1 (10% grade): Perform market analysis for Crutch, and write a report about addressable market size, what are state-of-the-art products, and who are the key players in the market. What are the industry trends of this product?
The global medical crutches market size was valued at USD 727.4 million in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2023-2030. This growth can be attributed to the high number of surgeries performed worldwide which is contributing to the demand for medical crutches.
The forearm crutch segment led the market with the highest revenue share of 33.8% in 2022. Based on product, the market is segmented into an underarm crutch, forearm crutch, leg support crutch, tetrapod crutch, and others. People who have permanent disabilities or who have sustained short-term injuries use forearm crutches. These disabilities are caused by accidents. The high incidence of accidents is expected to increase the demand for forearm crutches.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/medical-crutches-market-report
Some prominent players in the global medical crutches market include:
Sunrise Medical. Nova Medical Products. Millennial Medical. Chinesport. IWALKFree. Cardinal Health. Home Medical Products. New York Millennium Pharmaceutical.
Industry trends of medical crutches
Industry or market trends are changes or developments that are happening within a particular field. They can take many forms from new technologies to shifts in consumer behavior. And they have the potential to create both opportunities and challenges for businesses.
https://univdatos.com/report/medical-crutches-market/
Task 2 (15% grade): Identify customer needs for the Crutch, what features they care and how do existing products meet or not meet their needs. You can initiate an online survey if possible.
List customer needs in descending order of importance and converts them into product specifications and requirement document with bullet points for each item. The requirements should cover these areas:
Medical Crutch assists for walking by transfering the weights to upper body which is used by the people who met with accidents or the people who cannot walk. Crutches used by the people who are unable to use thier legs.
https://www.canstockphoto.com/crutches-and-walking-stick-collection-79321128.html
Customer needs for the crutch
I do refered some of the comments on Amazon and Flipkart in order to what customer actuvally needs rather than the existing medical crutches already avilable in the market.
- Cusomized and comfortable hand grip.
- Crutch should be adjustable and should make a tight fit.
- Crutches should not be slippery and should be supportive for free movement
- Crutches should having more features with affordable costs.
Customer requirements
- Crutch shall having comfortable and adjustable hand grip
- Crutch price shall not be more than Rs. 1000/-
- Crutch shall enable the height adjustment for different individuals.
Functional requirements
- Crutch shall having auto adjustment mode once placed on ground.
- Crutch shall not be more complicated to use.
- Crutch shall have to provide more physical support to the patient
Performance requirements
- Crutch shall have to enable patient walk efficient and comfortably
- Material using to restrucuring crutch shall be strong, shockproof, waterproof and more resistance
Design requirements
- Crutch tip shall having suction cup mechanism enables good foot work and great stability on ground
- Height adjustments of crutch should be more convienient rather compared to other models
https://web.stanford.edu/group/rrd/Projects/2kprojects/crutch/crutch.html
Task 3 (25% grade): Generate the concept of the product, including
Concept generation based on customer feedback :
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/24/7216
Customer wanted the crutch to be more comfortable. The foot of the crutch should be designed in a way that gives more grip even on wet surfaces. Height adjustments should be more convienient. Hand grip should be supportive and gripy. I would like to insert nano accelerometers along with crutch that can detect fall.
Write the concept of operation for the product
Crutch having stiff structure and flexible handling with nice foot with suction cup and height adjustable shaft also with long lasting material with attratctive design is attained in a way that it had to upto some certian ISO standards in order to get into the market.
work breakdown structure of crutch
Product architecture selection and reasoning
My customized medical crutch is totally depends upon customer selection of various sub parts, which were assembled in accordance of patient convience
I do prefer Modular architecture for my medical crutch because of customized integration assosiated with standards and utmost benefit along with great design.
Write the interface control documents
Mechanical interface : Crutch is an instrument which is mechanical, customer simply place hand on handle grip and prepare himself to move around
Electrical interface : No electrical interface for crutch
Information flow interface : No information flow interface for crutch
Human machine interface : Simply patient keep hand on handle grip and stand, cuff will be supported and hand was at handle, now the patient moves applying physical pressure of crutch to make themself comfortable and balanced.
Task 4 (30% grade): Create a development plan for the product, including
Product development roadmap:
The mission statement of the product:
walk in a proud and confident way with our customized medical crutch
Product development resource requirements
Staffing requirements: what type of person do you need and how many do you need to accomplish the IPD work
Mechanical engineers, Design engineers are required to complete the customized crutch. Staffing strength is based on the number of devices are assigned for manufacturing.
Budget requirements: create a budget sheet of how you plan to spend your money
Maintaining budget sheet can track the expenses, net income, profit and loss if any.
Product Schedule
Induvidual parts were designed, developed and released into market. And according to the market response the final product was customized and released. After Validation approval products were released into market.
Task 5 (20% grade): Use industrial design knowledge to refine the design
Simplicity : Cuff was comfortable to wear and tight fit to not to loose grip on crutch.
Immediate intuition : Stainless steel rods with adjustable spring buckle at segment joint with customized foot
Approachable innovation : Pivotless cuff, adjustable spring buckle along with ergocap modulation for stability and balance
Aesthetics : Patient does not feel like having a problem with crutch
Ergonomics : Comfortable to use and balanced during walk or climb steps.
2.Generate industrial design drawings (hand sketching is fine, but encourage to use Photoshop or illustrator if possible) and explain how it differs from the initial concept.
https://smartcrutch.uk/smart-crutch-specifications/smart-crutch-manufacturing-specifications/
The above modification is almost similar to my assumed industrial design of crutch. Our product can beat other companies through limitless customizations, different colours and various designs along with features and good quality standards within affordable price range.