Prone Breast Couch Project
Innovative Design
As a PhD student in Industrial Design Engineering, we developed a prone patient support device (so called breast board) for breast and regional lymph node radiation therapy (in collaboration with the University Hospital).
At the time, no commercially available prone breast boards were suitable for both breast and lymph node irradiation. Therefore, we developed a new patient position and support device, which enables us to use more favourable beam paths in comparison with the standard technique used for lymph node irradiation.
Iterative Approach
Through iterative prototyping and a user-centred design approach, we were able to design multiple prototypes without big time and resource investments. Volunteering patients were used for comfort evaluations during the different iterations.
Optimised User Comfort
Patients, ex-patients and staff all contributed to the optimisation of this complex device. Several user test, surveys and anatomical analyses were performed to achieve the most comfortable yet medical efficient device.
High End Prototypes
When designing the breast couch, no metal parts could be used around the breast area since this interferes with radiation beams. Consequently, all prototypes had to be produced in carbon fibre, fibre reinforced 3D prints and CNC milled parts.