Silicon: A Revolutionary Infusion Dosing System

Sheng-Lun Huang and Chih-Yen Lin's Award-Winning Innovation

The inspiration for Silicon came from interviews with medical staff who revealed the stress of constantly monitoring and calculating drip flow rates for medicines. The designers noted that during peak hours, medical staff could easily forget about patients' treatments, leading to accidents. Additionally, the healthcare industry's reliance on disposable medical materials contributes to billions of pounds of waste annually, depleting resources and causing environmental pollution.

Silicon stands out from other designs due to its unique properties. It uses a simple mechanical timer and flow rate valve to control the flow rate and time of drip medicine, reducing the risk of medical negligence. Moreover, it doesn't require electricity, making it a more affordable alternative to expensive electronic automatic detection devices. This feature makes it particularly beneficial for resource-deprived areas.

The realization of Silicon involved a thoughtful design process. After dosing, the system's internal structure switches to physiological saline mode, continuing to inject into the patient's body. This feature prevents accidents caused by medical staff's negligence during busy times. The design specifications of Silicon are Width 110mm x Depth 57mm x Height 302mm.

The design was a collaborative effort involving Sheng-Lun Huang, Chih-Yen Lin, Professor Kai-Chu Li, and a medical team comprising Ciao-Yi Chen, Ya-Ling Chen, and He-Yen Lin. The design process involved interviews with nurses and trainee nurses, leading to the development of the drug timer structure and the timing flow rate valve structure. These structures improve the accuracy of intravenous drug injection, making medical staff's work more convenient and accurate.

The development of Silicon was a challenging task. It took a year of hard work and collaboration with the medical staff to realize this design. The designers had to ensure that the drug was completely injected without harming the patient, which posed a significant challenge. However, the team's perseverance paid off when Silicon was awarded Silver in the A' Idea and Conceptual Design Award in 2021, a testament to their outstanding expertise and innovation.