Use your hippothalamus: diagrams galore

Below are several rough sketches made during our second meeting on the 18th as we developed an initial design and went through several options, discussing the advantages and potential problems of each.


This is the very first sketch we made as we talked about using a bottle-shaped design with a user interface on the side and an inhaler mouthpiece coming out of one end. Obviously, the initial diagram is an extremely rough sketch made in an attempt to give all team members a rough visual image of our final product and to get the team on the same page. Drawings easily allowed us to convey what we are imagining in our minds when it may be difficult to describe these designs in words.


These drawings were made as we attempted to work out the connection between the bag holding the medication, the inhaler, and the mouthpiece for patient use. The sketches show inside views of the device. We considered a removable cap over the mouthpiece as well as both a sliding mouthpiece that can be pulled out of the device and a mouthpiece that can be snapped up perpendicular to its storage position. Some concerns we ran into included replacement/refilling of the medication bag and the level of sanitation of the mouthpiece.


Following our initial rough sketch, this is a more detailed drawing of our very first design - a very large, bulky, and shoe box-like container with a mouthpiece that can flip out on the side next to a user interface. The top portion shows a top-view of the bag of medication.


Here is a more sketch we made as we discussed the mechanics behind the medication bag - how it is initially installed, how it can then be replaced/refilled (most likely by a doctor/pharmacist), and how specifically it releases a set amount of medication to be administered to a patient.


Here is a rough sketch of a more realistic model of our first design. We estimated the size to be approximately similar to a bottle 10 in. long by 3 in. wide. The user interface is placed at one end by the mouthpiece under a removable cap, and the bag of medication is stored at the other end.

At today's recitation meeting, we began the final drawing of our product on the computer and compiled several diagrams. Below is a diagram of design decisions we have made, progressing from our conceptual to detailed designs and finally to our two rival designs.