Introduction:

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical condition caused by the body’s overwhelming response to an infection, requiring immediate treatment within the first hour. STEA-35 is an innovative early diagnostic and treatment device designed specifically for ambulance paramedics to manage sepsis patients during transport to the hospital. The device includes a diagnostic pen and a disposable cassette, which houses the essential components for blood-cleaning technology. This system enables rapid intervention, significantly improving patient outcomes.


Background:
This project was completed as part of the Conceptual Product Solution course during my studies at the Umeå Institute of Design. In this course, we collaborated with the medical company Getinge to explore future possibilities for ICU care. At the start of the course, we conducted research at the central hospital in Umeå and visited five different ICU wards. The wards I visited were Neurosurgery and Infection.
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Research and Field trip:
                                   












Design Opportunities:
During our visit to the infection ward, we discovered that sepsis is a complex challenge for hospital doctors. It is often misinterpreted as a common cold, making it difficult to diagnose quickly. The 'golden hour' for sepsis treatment is within 1-2 hours, and delayed recognition and treatment can significantly worsen the patient’s condition, potentially leading to organ failure and death. Furthermore, nearly 75% of patients develop sepsis symptoms at home, rather than in the hospital. As a result, providing a more efficient solution for the early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis has become the goal of our project.




                                         
                                                                                                  3 Concept Directions








The idea is to begin treatment as soon as the first responders arrive at the patient’s home. This way, once the patient is diagnosed with sepsis, they can be immediately transported to the hospital while already receiving treatment en route. After conducting desktop research, we explored the technologies related to sepsis treatment. - https://ethz.ch/en/industry/industry/news/data/2021/02/magnetic-blood-purification-to-cure-sepsis.html

                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                Concept graphic - ICU care extension














Ambulance Station Visit:
After decided on the direction, we visited the ambulance station in Umeå, conducted interviews with the parametics there and looked into their ambulances. Our idea is to provide a “grab-and-go” portable solution for sepsis diagnostics and treatment, which needs us to look into the contexts which it should be positioned at.

Yezzzzz, here we are! The mysterious group foto in front of ambulance

First responders need to carry a lot bags that with medical equipments to patient’s home in one time



Taking measurements for product dimensions
















Concept Development
In this stage, we started by considering what the context would be like (concept blueprint) after the parametrics had this product. Different scenarios are closely related to the product’s different functional parts. We acted out the scenarios using some cheap materials on hand, then dived into detailed product design. In this stage, we also conducted some ideation workshops.



Workshop and discussion before diving into detailed product design
Discussion after the interview with infection unit
Cold and foggy winter in Sweden













Concept Blueprint
It is important to know how the scenario would look like after having your product designed. We acted out the whole ‘concept blueprint’ to show the concept more vividly. While this step is to sort out what functional parts do the product need, the next step is to design the product in detail.  


        



                     










Product Development
After sorting out how many functional parts are composed inside, we started from rough mockups and gradually - after several rounds of discussion to settle down the final design concept.


ergonomic testing












Technology








The picture on the right shows how the peristaltic pump functions.At first the pump pumps out the blood, then magnetic beads inserted into blood and bind toxics, magnetic bead are separated from blood, 4 purified blood is pumped back into patient. In this way to clean the patient’s blood on the way. Our concept is to have a disposable ‘cassette’ unit which can be changed after the patient arrived at hospital. The cost is cheap and easily manufactuable.  (more related resources: https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/blood-cleansing-biospleen-device-developed-for-sepsis-therapy/)
















Final Outcome



the disposable cassette handover: inside the cassette are components which are necessary for blood cleaning technology  











Mounting structure and charging base






Different product orientations on stretcher