Slive

What it does

Slive brings more warmth and comfort to healthcare workers who are compelled to wear short-sleeved scrubs while protecting the patients with antibacterial fabric. Slive enables them to clean their forearms and is compatible with the hospital laundry service.

Your inspiration

While talking with friends who work at the hospital, we discovered several problems that they have to face everyday, especially in their fight against hospital-acquired infections and the impacts on their work conditions. The issue became clearer in the field when we visited the university hospital of Amiens-Picardie, where we were able to exchange views Dr. Boyer and Dr. Domisse, and the hospital staff, and observe them while they were working. By looking at their clothes, we noticed rapidly they were cold, and we were surprised to learn that there was nothing done to address this issue.

How it works

Long-sleeved white coats are more likely to contain germs and caregivers need to clean their forearms; in consequence, to fight nosocomial infections, the sleeves of their scrubs are short. It causes a problem of discomfort during winter or for those who have night shifts, when the temperature drops. You just have to put Slive on your arms, which permits to cover you up to the elbow to keep you warm, thanks to the elastic textile that adjusts to the body type. In the line of duty, the caregiver is not hindered in his movements and the part that could be infected is made of a casein-based antibacterial textile, which is a milk protein that prevents the germs from holding onto it. Slive is compatible with the hospital environment, the laundry service and can be removed, pulled on and folded quickly. Several sizes are available and can be distinguished by a color stripe at the top of the sleeve.

Design process

Slive has been designed to respond to problems that we have been able to discern during our first field analysis at the university hospital of Amiens-Picardie. Given that the caregivers are cold, they put on sweatshirts and pullovers whose sleeves are sticking out, which cause health problems, or a disposable gown, not environmentally friendly. Therefore, we studied the gown and the scrubs of the caregivers, and then we investigated several concepts in order to address, from different points of view, the problem of infections and comfort. Several sketches have been made in order to define solutions and forms. We visited the university hospital a second time to show our concepts and sketches to Dr. Boyer, Head of the Emergency Department, and Dr. Domisse, Head of the Adult Emergency Department, and to gather their feedback on our ideas. After selecting the concept they were most interested in, we created a full-scale prototype in order to approve the ergonomic design and the use of the sleeve. As we wanted, it keeps warm, can be put on and removed easily, doesn't slide at all and doesn't hinder the movements.

How it is different

Slive is not only used to keep warm. We also have studied the ergonomic and health problems, and we have started an intensive research on innovative antibacterial materials and textiles. Indeed, the antibacterial textiles used nowadays are based mainly on the use of silver nanoparticles, which turn out to be problematic for the environment and human health. We focused on alternatives, like the case of textile structures made from polypropylene and casein. The casein is made from bovine milk and is interesting for its effective natural and antibacterial properties. The benefit of using the casein as an antibacterial agent is twofold: on one hand the biobased and renewable aspect of this protein, and on the other hand the reuse and the salvage of the waste of dairy products, from which it is extracted. This is this technology we plan to use.

Future plans

Slive aims to improve the comfort of caregivers. To do so, the next step is to design new prototypes with the antibacterial fabric in order to test the sleeves in real conditions. Our main goal is to put a light on the working conditions of the caregivers and to show that solutions can see the light of day.

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