Proning Taco

Medical product development within the helpfulETH initiative focusing on COVID-19 needs

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Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients around the world are using the prone-positioning of patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) as an effective therapy to increase blood oxygenation and reduce mortality. Turning anaesthetized patients safely requires at least 3-5 medical nurses and can be medical tedious to do with current methods. This project proposes a simple mechanical solution to facilitate the proning procedure and reduce the amount of personnel needed.

The Proning Taco consists of two parts which are wrapped around the patient before turning, the bottom of which remains under the patient during the “parking” period. A functional model was created for preliminary testing by the University Hospital of Zurich (USZ). The tests concluded that while the system has potential to facilitate rotation, particularly for heavier patients, issues with axial stability during rotation need to be overcome to present a safe and viable product. The blueprints for the design along with detailed test results are entered to the public domain for independent future development.

This project was headed by Julian Ferchow (Inspire AG, ETH Zurich)

The Proning Taco on ETH News

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