Our Solution
Spinatap Tech aims to create a simple & safe way to collect CSF from infants
The Spinatap Chair
Based on the highest risk factors of infant movement and lack of physician experience, we have developed the Spinatap Chair.
This product will increase the success rate in infant LPs by securing the patient during the procedure with a bundling mechanism. Additionally, angling the chair seat and including stomach padding reinforce the optimal patient position, which is similar to the fetal position.
Our target customers are administrators of both private and public hospitals, with a focus on teaching hospitals. The end-users of this device are physicians in pediatric intensive care units and emergency departments.
The design of the chair was invented in conjunction with physician feedback from Dr. David Kessler, Spinatap Tech's Medical Advisor, as well as a Columbia University Medical Center focus group in the Pediatric Emergency Department. With the help of these physicians, it was determined that a chair would position the patient better than a table and that specific chair contours, such as a spacer between the patients' legs, would create both stability and comfort for patients . Additionally, it was determined that the target age range for this product should specifically be infants age 0-3 months, as this is the range in which LPs are most frequently performed on infants. It was also suggested that the seat of the Spinatap Chair be inclined for gravity reinforcement of the fetal-like position of the patient. By translating these ideas into simple mechanisms, the Spinatap Chair decreases human error and simplifies the procedure, thus significantly increasing the accuracy of the procedure.
Below are two images showing the largest configuration (left), sized for a 3 month old, and the smallest configuration (right), sized for a newborn. The sides and the front of the chair are adjustable to account for sizing differences in patients. The auxiliary guidance tools (see next section) can be clamped onto the handles of the chair.
This product will increase the success rate in infant LPs by securing the patient during the procedure with a bundling mechanism. Additionally, angling the chair seat and including stomach padding reinforce the optimal patient position, which is similar to the fetal position.
Our target customers are administrators of both private and public hospitals, with a focus on teaching hospitals. The end-users of this device are physicians in pediatric intensive care units and emergency departments.
The design of the chair was invented in conjunction with physician feedback from Dr. David Kessler, Spinatap Tech's Medical Advisor, as well as a Columbia University Medical Center focus group in the Pediatric Emergency Department. With the help of these physicians, it was determined that a chair would position the patient better than a table and that specific chair contours, such as a spacer between the patients' legs, would create both stability and comfort for patients . Additionally, it was determined that the target age range for this product should specifically be infants age 0-3 months, as this is the range in which LPs are most frequently performed on infants. It was also suggested that the seat of the Spinatap Chair be inclined for gravity reinforcement of the fetal-like position of the patient. By translating these ideas into simple mechanisms, the Spinatap Chair decreases human error and simplifies the procedure, thus significantly increasing the accuracy of the procedure.
Below are two images showing the largest configuration (left), sized for a 3 month old, and the smallest configuration (right), sized for a newborn. The sides and the front of the chair are adjustable to account for sizing differences in patients. The auxiliary guidance tools (see next section) can be clamped onto the handles of the chair.
Auxiliary Guidance Tools
The Spinatap Laser Guidance System
Currently, less experienced physicians have difficulty visualizing anatomical landmarks (spinal midline and iliac crests) that are commonly used to locate the L3-L4 intervertebral space for puncturing. If the wrong spot is located, even by a few millimeters, physicians could hit a vertebrae, causing much pain to the patient, and would have to perform the LP again, which also greatly increases costs. Spinatap Tech offers this optional educational feature to assist in finding the location of the puncture site with a line laser. This system can be clamped onto the Spinatap Chair and will be able to give physicians a clear visual while practicing locating the space.
The Spinatap Customized Protractor
Less experienced physicians have trouble with puncturing the skin at the correct angle. Usually, the needle should be perpendicular to the patients' backs, however this can be difficult to approximate because of the patients' angled positions. In puncturing at the wrong angle, physicians significantly increase the chance of a traumatic LP. Spinatap Tech offers this optional educational feature to assist in monitoring the angle of insertion with a protractor component. Similar to the Laser Guidance System, this system can be clamped onto the Spinatap Chair and used to practice puncturing.
Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Biomedical Engineering Senior Design
Biomedical Engineering Senior Design