PACKA feeding pump system for special needs

by Samantha Del Rosario

inspirationMy inspiration for this project was my brother, Kevin. He is a special needs kid, one of his disorders being cerebral palsy. For children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disorders, it may be difficult to feed and swallow. This carries significant problems with development, nutrition, respiratory health, and overall family life. Although oral feeding therapy can be used to help those children with cerebral palsy, it is not usually effective in providing nutrition and weight gain. Gastronomy tubes are an alternative for these children with feeding problems. For many, the decision to use a stomach feeding tube is necessary to maintain a healthy living situation for their special needs child. Many special needs children gain weight and become a lot healthier, which is what happened to my brother, Kevin. My brother Kevin uses a Kangaroo Joey Feeding Pump. This feeding pump is with him at school, on the go and at home.

meet my brother!

why does the feeding pump have to stick out like a sore thumb?

Name/Brand Dimensions Weight Battery Life Accessories

Entera lite Infinity by Zevex

Kangaroo Joey

Ross Patrol Enteral Pump

Kangaroo E-pump

Infinity Orange Small Volume Feeding Pump

1.95”x5.65x4.05”

4.1”x5.1”x3.6”

8.5”x6.5”x4.8”

6.6”x6.4”x4.6”

4.05”x5.65”x1.85”

14.4oz

1.7lbs

6.6lbs

2.3lbs

14.4oz

24 hour

72 hour

8 hour

15 hour

24 hour

Super mini backpack IV pole clamp

IV pole clmapbackpack

IV pole clampbackpack

pole clampshoulder packbackpack

iv clamp

product overview

Kangaroo Joey is one of the most popular brands among Kevin’s special needs classmates.

Stylish

Blah

More storage

Less storage

opportunity!

Although these are the most stylish, they are designed to be worn by more active children, rather then handicapped children.

A stylish bag with more storage capabilities for a special needs kid.

personaJim and Nancy are parents to a special needs child named Josh. They have been using the Kangaroo Joey pump for three years since Josh received his MIC-KEY button. He is currently enrolled in a special needs school and is about 13 years old. Jim and Nancy are now in their late forties and are starting to feel the effects of aging. Although they have a part time caretaker that helps out during the week, they make every effort to take full responsibility and care for him on the weekends. With the help of their 18-year-old son Mark, they have been able to keep up. Their son is moving away to college, but they are weary about hiring their caretaker full time, as they will be paying for his college tuition. They want to continue to take care of Josh and have a part time nanny while their son is in college.

Josh is a happy and vibrant thirteen year old. He is developmentally delayed and cannot form words. He gets very excited easily and loves to grab things. Because of this, his feeding tubes must stay organized and in a neat area or else he may grab and accidentally damage the equipment. He especially loves going on walks with his brother on the near by trail. When Mark take him he gets very excited, although with his brother in college, he hasn’t been able to go on hikes as often because of his feeding tube equipment being a hassle to travel with. Jim and Nancy both work full time, so during the weekend they try to relax, which means less time outdoors for Josh.

empathic researchA large part of my research was putting myself in the shoes of Jenny, the full time caretaker of my brother. I documented the daily tasks with the feeding pump and her difficulties of using it every day.

Small Bag for paper tape, hand sanitizer, alcohol swabs

Joey Pump Bag

Lunch bag for extra formula, water and medicine.

What Kevin brings...

Traveling with the Feeding Pump

Kangaroo Pump pack

Lunch Bag for extra formula, medicine, and water

Travel Tag in case of emergency

Flap for easy access to pump settings

Not enough storage spaceToo many bagsHard to manage Appearance}Problems

Although there is storage for two bags. Jenny told me she rarely uses it. Its already a hassle for her to place one bag in, having another stored inside with its tubing can get the tubes tangled.

First thing I noticed, how dirty it gets inside from formula spilling, very noticable with the all black interior

Having the lining of the bag black made it harder to see or notice any of the special features.

There is no designated area to store the tubing when it is not in use. Its usually tucked inside the instruction pocket, and can get easily tangled.

Too much velcro!

Hard to place each strap nicely.

Easily gets tangled together

Every pump comes with a pole clamp to attach for at home use.

The pole appears very hospital like, it doesn’t quite fit into a home environment.

Jenny added this little clip here to keep the tubing in place.

Designated area to put tubing when not in use

The collapsing wheels can get in the way of the tubes and cords

A nice feature of the clamp is that it has an area to wrap the cord.

at home bedside on the go at school

use scenarios

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regular children’s feeding schedule

feeding pump schedules of 5 special needs children

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“The kids have come in with a dead [battery] pump. Sometimes no formula is sent in, no feeding bags sent with the bag, back up supplies are used.”

“I am very concerned about power, in an emergency how am I going to use feeding pump when the pump charger isn’t packed?” “Where it is positioned on the pole is important. It can be lower or higher then the stomach. Must be secure and connected so that the kid can’t grab it, and it must be secure to make sure people don’t trip over the tubing.”

From surveying five of Kevin’s special needs classmates I calculated that these feeding pumps were used 60-83% of the day.

interviews

mood boardI looked at industry trends involving medical products and softgoods products in order to get a look and feel to match my product.

I organized the needs I found from surveys, empathic research, observations, and interviews.

user needs

Pack everything special kids need.

medicine, diapers, pump charger, extra formula,

water, etc.

Fast and easyThe sooner stuff is packed and assembled, the easier

it is to do daily tasks.

Fit in.The product should feel

familiar and fit in the environments it works in. It does not need to stick out like a sore thumb.

blue sky concepts

Volumetric studies were done to make sure that I could fit everything special needs kids need to bring, with breathing room for extra stuff.

Concept 1:exposed compartment

system can be playsed on a nightstand for bedside feeding system can be playsed next to therapy chair for feeding

Concept 2:modular and exposed hybrid

modular system can sit on the night stand collapsible pole allows the pump to be displayed when at school or home bag is mobile

Concept 3:modular system

modular system can be displayed at home or at school modular system is easy to transport

20in

13in

19.5in

8in

.75in

6in 3.5in

19.5in

20in

13in

19.5in

8in

.75in

6in 3.5in

19.5in

final conceptThe final concept consists of modular bags. One inner bag and one outer bag. The inner bag can be taken out and used by itself, or placed on top for the ability to see a quick view.

color studiesFor the final bag, I decided on aesthetics that would resemble a kid’s backpack. I wanted to choose colors that were kid friendly, so I went with darker colors with a pop of green.

patternI drafted a pattern from a solidworks sketch and draped the pattern around a styrafoam “mannequin”.

rubber zipper pulls

front compartments for water bottles, extra formula.

quick open flap

carabineer clip side straps

pump tubing pocket

pull out handle

telescoping pole

top strap

1.5” caster wheels

larger compartment for clothes, diapers

one buckle mechanism,less velcro tangles

organized tube placement

pump fits snugly next to the clear view.

After Everything can be packed into one bag.

Before

Everything can be packed into one bag.

After Fits easily onto physical therapy chairs at school.

Before

After Takes up less space in the bedroom.

Before

After The pump no longer stands out on the IV pole.

Before

A small note:

This project is near and dear to my heart. Although this process book is done, I don’t think I’ll ever stop sketching around this design, and the problem it addresses. I want to thank Professor Speer for letting me pursue this project along with my mentor, Stephen Hooper of Elemental 8 for advising me. I would also like to thank all of Kevin’s teachers and classmates at Mauzy School for letting me interview them.

To be continued...

Samantha Del Rosario