Cap Snap

What it does

Cap Snap is a medical multi-tool for crimp seal cap removal and ampoule breaking, designed for health professionals to reduce risks when accessing medications and reduce barriers to more sustainable practices.

Your inspiration

Tens of thousands of glass medication vials are disposed of in sharps bins yearly in hospital wards and ICUs, requiring autoclaving before landfill, an energy-intensive process.. These vials could be recycled, but post-processing barriers exist. Separating aluminium caps from glass vials with makeshift tools causes hand strain and laceration risks. Opening glass ampoules, poses high risks due to sharp edges causing lacerations. I was prompted to address these issues by the Improvement and Innovation team at Wellington Regional Hospital.

How it works

Operation is simple. The jaws are adjusted along a linear ratchet to the desired size, for most sizes of caps tested, an opening of 2-3mm smaller than the cap's outer diameter worked well (can vary based on the stiffness of the aluminium used). Once in position, it is exactly like using a normal bottle opener. The glass ampoule snapper component is functionally quite similar to other designs on the market. The head of the ampoule is inserted into the opening and can then be used to crack the ampoule open. The head of the ampoule is captured in the tool via an O-ring. Pressing the slider down pushes a piston into the chamber that purges the head or any broken glass allowing for the head to be safely released into a bin. The viewport has two functions, first, it allows the user to see the marked weak point on the ampoule (shown with a red dot) and second, in the case of the head shattering inside the tool, it provides another route to clean out the chamber.

Design process

The initial stages of the project were research and consultation with the Wellington Hospital Intensive Care Sustainability Group - this was key in outlining the requirements and constraints of the tool. Following this was an iterative design process to generate potential product interventions. Routine check-ins with staff allowed the exchange of ideas and insights about existing products and concept ideas. Once a concept was agreed upon, the resulting prototypes were tested in a simulated environment to refine form and function. Very early into the process, it was clear that simplicity and good affordances were key in ensuring people could pick it up and use it correctly without instruction. Prototypes were designed to make use of mechanisms that are well-understood and easy to operate. In this case, bottle openers and craft knives both served as suitable bases for the design. This process culminated with Cap Snap, a small multi-tool designed to address specific issues facing ICU and ward staff. The benefits are a reduction of total task time, a reduced number of required movements to achieve the task, a reduction in sharps hazards present, and decreased user strain.

How it is different

The novelty of this design is its integration of two functions into a single linear mechanism and a greater focus on user interaction. The form is similar to a bottle opener, and the slider is reminiscent of an adjustable utility knife. These elements give an intuitive understanding of how to use and adjust the device to different sizes. The opening in the base of the handle and viewport makes insertion and location of the ampoule weak point easy to identify, and purging the head is simply adjusting the slider. Further utility is gained through the D ring, this feature doubles as an aid in breaking ampoules, providing a consistent touch point to apply pressure at a safe distance. The idea is that with these combined functions and improved user experience in a single tool, there will be increased adoption as only one tool is necessary.

Future plans

Continued development of the tool is taking place internally within Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora Improve.

Awards

2024 Red Dot Award