ProjectsCollection

SurgiBox Mini

Doctors in resource-constrained environments or during medical missions in remote areas need the ability to conduct surgeries with minimal equipment and infrastructure.

Surgibox, a portable sterile surgical system, provides a solution for conducting surgeries in remote or under-resourced settings. However, the current model of SurgiBox is not well-suited for minor procedures. Surgeons operating in the field often encounter challenges associated with transporting and setting up equipment themselves, and have highlighted the need for a smaller SurgiBox design, maintaining its critical features while addressing these challenges effectively.

Our solution is the SurgiBox Mini, a compact and lightweight surgical enclosure that pops up and is designed to optimize critical dimensions while prioritizing visibility and comfort for surgeons.

Final Design Review Slides

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The SurgiBox Mini project with MIT D-Lab gave me more experience in design, rapid prototyping, and user-centered innovation. The process of refining the pop-up mechanism strengthened my problem-solving abilities and allowed me to apply the Mechanical Engineering skills I have learned to a real-world project. Because of the milestones, design reviews, and interfacing with project partners, I also sharpened my communication and teamwork skills.

Reflecting on the project, I’ve learned the value of user feedback and testing early in the design process. The key to impactful innovation sometimes lies in simplicity and ease of use, especially when designing for low-resource settings where time, space, and reliability take precedence.

Overall, this project not only expanded my technical skills but also allowed me to see how design can improve healthcare outcomes in underserved communities.

Takeaways

Design thinking
Rapid prototyping
Communication
Teamwork

Process

Motivation

Every year, 18 million patients face fatal outcomes due to delayed surgical care when safe operating environments are unavailable. SurgiBox introduced an ultraportable sterile system to address this, but there is a growing need for a smaller version designed for minor procedures. The challenge of the SurgiBox Mini project was to create a compact design that efficiently uses space while ensuring it adapts to different body types, maintains sterility, and optimizes critical features for healthcare in constrained environments. Addressing this need is essential to improving healthcare delivery in areas where space and resources are limited and where every inch counts in providing safe surgical care.

D-Lab focuses on teaching students the participatory design process, critical thinking about development theories, and hands-on engineering work to create meaningful solutions in real-world settings. Through these projects, D-Lab students aim to make a tangible difference in the lives of people living in poverty. As part of MIT’s D-Lab, I collaborated with our project partner, SurgiBox, to design a more compact version of the SurgiBox system, which we coined the SurgiBox Mini.

Goals

The primary goal of the SurgiBox Mini project was to develop a smaller, more compact version of the existing SurgiBox, specifically tailored for high-frequency minor surgical procedures. The design aimed to maintain SurgiBox’s functionalities while optimizing for space and usability in resource-constrained environments.

Design requirements based on background research and conversations with our project partner included the following:

Smaller Design: Create a more compact SurgiBox that effectively uses space without compromising on performance or adaptability
High Clarity: Ensure the frame still provides clear visibility for surgeons to see their procedures
Fast Setup and Disposal: Achieve a setup time of less than 2 minutes and a disposal time of under 1 minute, beating the original SurgiBox model
Long Shelf Life: Select materials that allow for a shelf life of over 2 years
Comfortable Surgical Spacing: Ensure the layout of ports provides optimal spacing

Progress

Understanding Our Users
Our first step for the SurgiBox Mini project was to understand our target users – both surgeons and patients. We conducted interviews with doctors working in under-resourced settings to identify the features that were most important to them, including ease of use, setup time, and visibility during procedures. These insights helped shape the design requirements.

Brainstorming and Rapid Prototyping
Based on our initial research and design requirements, we began brainstorming and working on two parallel design concepts: a connector design, which required assembly, and a pop-up design. After rapid prototypes and evaluation, we chose to move forward with the pop-up design because of its intuitive, user-friendly nature and some of its overlapping features with the original SurgiBox.

Refining the Pop-up Design
Next, we needed to refine the Pop-up design to meet and test the functional requirements. A key challenge was selecting the right medical grade materials such as frame material stiff enough to provide structure and support when the box was popped up, but flexible enough to avoid excess force during assembly. We also focused on using clear TPU plastic to ensure high visibility for the surgeon, the same plastic used in the original SurgiBox design.

Final Prototype Design
The final prototype of the SurgiBox Mini offered a high-quality sterile barrier system with over a 45% reduction in size compared to the original SurgiBox. Key features of the final design included:

A hyperbolic pop-up design with a spring steel frame, providing lightweight and disposable functionality
A setup time of 9-10 seconds
Four individual sleeves for a comfortable layout for the surgeon’s arms
An unobstructed view of the operating area
Ample space inside to perform minor procedures
A magnetically sealed port for the transport of surgical tools and materials
Integration of a medical-grade adhesive surgical drape for sterility
A port designed to be compatible with SurgiBox's existing air filtration technology

This design was lightweight, compact, and easy to use while maintaining the critical features necessary for safe and effective surgery in low-resource settings.