BCIT – Ergonomic Syringe Design
The idea for an innnovative syringe adaptor originated with Richard Hall and Dennis Schweers.
Richard is an Ergonomic Advisor at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), and Dennis
is a Biomedical Engineer at the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia.
Details of the research problem: All too often, nurses and professionals in the medical field
develop their own health issues from repetitive use of poorly designed devices. BCIT’s Process
Applied Research Team (PART) constantly aims to find safe solutions for health workers. The
goal of the design was to make chemotherapy administration as comfortable, safe, and efficient
for nurses as possible.
“We used to work on ultrasound machines and 90 percent of sonographers would end up with
lost time injuries on their shoulders over time,” said Nancy Paris, the Director of PART. “It was
just because they were badly designed machines.”
How the problem was solved: Hall and Schweers turned to PART to assist in the refining the
design of the syringe adaptor. What PART researchers Gordon Thiessen, Yvette Jones, Ernie
Janzen, and Thom Bellaire came up with, in collaboration with the PHSA team, was a sleek,
functional and compact device that was safe and easy for nurses to use.
The device was then tested by BCIT’s Technology and Product Evaluation Group for its usability,
functionality, and ergonometric properties in their Motion Capture Laboratory.
Research outcomes/success measures: For years, the PART team has been on the cutting edge
of designing medical devices. On June 25 2012, they were recognized for it.
The PART team was instrumental in helping the British Columbia PHSA team win the Workplace
Health Innovation (Award of Merit) at the 2012 Excellence in BC Health Care Awards for their
collaborative efforts. The device is currently patent pending and the applicants are looking for
commercial partners.
The syringe adaptor was recently presented in San Diego at the “World’s Best Technology”
showcase, in search of venture funding.
Funded by: WorkSafe BC