My Capstone

Improved Surgical Sponges

Surgery is a major form of medical treatment. Since this is the field that I plan on going in, I thought about problems that can occur when surgery is taking place. One problem that stood out to me was the misplacement of medical equipment inside of bodies. This problem can cause deformities, infections, and even death.

Thankfully, this problem does not happen too often but, it still does happen on occasion. There are ways to prevent this such as taking count of medical equipment but, human error is bound to happen. With equipment, such as sponges, soaking up blood and becoming hard to see, it is inevitable for it to happen sometimes but, what if there was a way we could stop this?

Senior Project: Text

Improved Surgical Sponges

I have created an improvement in the medical sponges used for surgery. What if there was something that can make hidden equipment visible? I have added a stick to the sponges so, it visibly sticks out of the patient. Due to demonstration purposes, I showed a sponge but, this can work for any surgical equipment used. This device is simple but, it will work.

Senior Project: Text

While watching a documentary, I learned about this mistake that can happen in the operating room. This made me think of ways that surgical equipment could become more visible to surgical professionals. Hence, the idea of making the equipment physically stick out of patients came to me.

This improved medical sponge will make the problem of lost equipment, inside of patients, decrease. Of course, there may be some downfalls to this equipment. For instance, an improved surgical sponge will not be as pliable as a regular surgical sponge. Also, there is a risk of the sponge falling off the stick. Since human error is bound to happen on the surgical table, this device simply decreases the chance of unnecessary mistakes.

Senior Project: Text