Rxit - Pill Dispenser
Fast Read:
- As part of our junior year Mechanical System Design (MSD) class, we had to design something to help people with disabilities.
- Our group developed a device that helped people with dexterity issues take medication from a medicine bottle
- Even though it wasn’t part of the assignment, we modeled and actually built a working prototype
- Our team got a 110% on the project and went on to inspire next semester’s projects
Mechanical Systems Design (MSD) had one of the coolest culminating projects. “Design something to help people, with an emphasis on recycled materials.” The example in class was creating an adapter to use bicycle wheels on a wheelchair.
Our team focused on the task of taking medication, and I’m glad we did. It was not required, or expected, that we would create an actual model. Not only did we do that, we built a model that worked! I can still remember the shift in the room when we showed the working version in the video. I also still have the 3D printed version on my desk, next to a container of the “pills” which are in fact just tic-tacs.
I’m happy to say that we won first place in a landslide and quite literally got a 110% grade on the project. (90%, and then 20 bonus from all of the votes).
I recently found out that Dr. Costano showed this video to the next class in MSD, just like how he showed an example video to our class at the start of the project. I’m glad that we got to build a working version, and even more glad that others can be inspired by the teams hard work and determination. The team I got to work with was excellent and brainstorming with them was fantastic. Since this website is a portfolio for my work, I would like to emphasize that I did all of the 3D modeling and assembling for the project. Also, I was a major contributor to editing the video- presentation and communication are really important! We got to use some high quality cameras and a professional video studio through VCU Library’s “Workshop” which Hannah and I work at.
Without further ado, please check out the video! (4min)
Video Description: The Rxit is a handheld device that dispenses one pill at a time for those who have difficulty with fine motor control. This is the final project in VCU’s EGMN 300 - Mechanical Systems Design class by Dr. Carlos Costano. Team: Autumn Brown, Alyssa Cadua, Nathalia Melgarejo-Salvatierra, Dan Miltenberger, and Hannah Tucker
Transcript
Introduction (Dan) Every day, millions of people live in a world not designed for them. [1] Image of stairs An “out of order” sign on an automatic door Close up of hands opening a medicine bottle But with work, determination, and engineering, we can design a better world. Our group focused on the task of taking medication. The most likely barriers to people with disabilities taking medication are the following: Opening the medicine bottle Pouring out a specific amount of medicine Closing the bottle Remembering to take the medication regularly.
To break these barriers, we designed the Rxit. This is a handheld device that portions a single pill for each pull of the lever. Image of 3d model It works by sorting the pill through a funnel and then into a magazine. The lever moves two gates which both dispense the pill and load the next one. Animation / multiple images of the mechanism This project is intended to be built using common parts, recycled materials, and operate without electricity.
Design (Autumn) Our design hopes to improve the lives of individuals with dexterity related disabilities such as limp-differences, injuries, partial paralysis, and cerebral palsy. Additionally, we hope to reuse single use devices. There are many instances in hospitals where medical tubing must be single use to protect the health of the patient [2]. However, could medical tubes used in anesthesia or oxygen cylinders be reused in a home setting?
For our prototype, we used FDM (fused deposition modeling) printing to work towards our minimum viable product. If this would go to a larger scale, these parts could be replaced by injected molded plastic or other reused components. For instance, maybe the lever could be taken from a cleaning bottle Image of cleaning bottle, close up of lever The central medical tube would be clear and would allow the user to see what is happening inside the mechanism. Most of the complexity is centered around the dispenser part. FBD of forces on the pin We designed this for someone to use 3 times a day for 5 years, or about 5.5k dispenses. It’s important that someone can get the most possible value out of this design.
Impact (Alyssa) How does our project bypass these barriers? First, we only open and close the bottle once, keeping the medication in the hopper. The device dispenses one pill at a time, so dosage is much easier to accomplish. Taking medication regularly is simplified with this device because it is easier to prepare a week’s worth of pills in one sitting. If we can pull it off, a demo of putting pills in a pill organizer
This project is open source, which means that anyone is welcome to change and modify this design to fit their needs. One possible modification could be changing the pencil design into a pill station Image of stand for the applicator, sitting on a kitchen counter Here, taking medication can easily become a part of someone’s routine
Limitations (Hannah) This project is not child / pet safe. The applicator would need to be emptied after use or stored somewhere safe. Currently, this device only works with a single shape of pill. The tube and gates would have to be adjusted for each different shape. This means that if someone takes multiple distinct pills, they would need multiple applicators. The prototype displayed would need some improvements to meet consumer quality, some of the improvements include hand friendly padding on the lever and would potentially need caps for the top and bottom of the dispenser. One of the major challenges of the design was determining if it was possible to add a safety lock while also making it easy to open for people who have trouble opening a standard medicine bottle and this is still a feature that would need to be worked on in our design
Next Steps & Conclusion (Nathalia) The next steps for this project would be answering these limitations. The primary issue is that the device can only handle one pill at a time. Perhaps we could use a dial on the top that can select different sized pills. The other limitation is safety. If this was going to be used in someone’s home, the medicine bottle could screw to the applicator and stay permanently attached. Then, if the lever was locked this could become more child safe, but not completely. Of course, if we go through the additional steps to make the device child safe, it becomes difficult for people with disabilities. A major factor in our designing was balancing safety and usability. Just a video of us explaining this to the camera. We don’t have time to do all of this designing lol
The overarching purpose of this project is to help design a more accommodating world quickly and efficiently. We believe we have accomplished this with our first draft of the Rxit. Portion pills, deliver dosage, manage medication, and prepare prescriptions with the Rxit.
Sources [1] Pew Research https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/24/8-facts-about-americans-with-disabilities/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20there%20are%20about%2042.5,Census%20Bureau%20data%20from%202021.
[2] Disposable medical tubing https://www.crushproof.com/blog/know-the-difference-between-durable-vs-disposable-medical-tubing/#:~:text=While%20durable%20medical%20tubing%20can,their%20release%20into%20the%20environment.