BME100 f2017:Group13 W0800 L2

BME 100 Fall 2017	Home People Lab Write-Up 1 | Lab Write-Up 2 | Lab Write-Up 3 Lab Write-Up 4 | Lab Write-Up 5 | Lab Write-Up 6 Course Logistics For Instructors Photos Wiki Editing Help
OUR TEAM Name: Stone Xia Name: Ben Pitts Name: Frida Kaellgren Name: Naomi Hurtado Name: MJ Othman Name: Devika Dileep LAB 2 WRITE-UP Device Image and Description The device consists of three main parts. The most important component is the heat and ice pack holder that is located near the lower back. The idea is that the user can either use an ice pack to relieve pain, or a heat pack to soothe muscles and increase healing. Four Kinesio tape "arms" wrap around the back and extend to the side of the body to improve circulation, secure the pack holder, and ensure the back is fully supported. A long strap of tape goes up the spine and extends over the shoulder. The tape that goes over the shoulders helps maintain better posture by pulling and aligning the shoulder into the correct position. In summary, the product provides relief and increases healing for back pain and back injuries. Technical and Clinical Feasibility Technical Feasibility Kinesio tape does not really have many challenges or obstacles in creating or manufacturing it. It would simply require printing out a large sheet of it and cutting it to the desired shape. Many similar products have been and are currently approved for use in the open market. The technology has been fully developed, and the only real challenge left is to shape it in the most efficient way possible. The space for the heat compress or the cold compress in the design is not difficult to manufacture either. The one challenge that may rise is designing the applicator for self-application to the back, because the material used to construct it has not yet been determined. It is likely to be similar to a thin sheet of plastic material. Clinical Feasibility Our product would be used clinically to alleviate chronic back pain as an easily self applied tape. KT tape is commercially sold in rolls or strips that have to be applied by a second party, specifically some kind of physical trainer. By making a pre-cut shape for the back, and being attached to a simple applicator, this has the potential of being a common household item that one applies any time they feel back pain. An issue that the user may run into is the fact that the back is a blind spot. Without being able to clearly see the back, unless looking in a mirror, it may be difficult to perfectly align the tape. However, we hope with our design, as long as the pre-cut shape is placed in the ballpark of its target area, it should work. KT tape works by lifting the skin to promote blood flow which should alleviate soreness in muscles and accelerate the healing process. Certain taping techniques alleviate different ailments. Taping the middle back helps correct posture at the same time as relieving the soreness in muscles. By combining these different techniques (low back, mid back, shoulders) we hope to achieve an all-in-one back pain reliever. Our design should help correct posture in the middle back while also promoting blood flow through the entire back, and giving some lumbar support all at the same time. The option to add a heat or cold pack using the “pocket” by the lower back may lead to issues with the adhesive if the pack is too hot or too cold. Also, the pocket must be supportive enough to allow the hot/cold pack to compress the afflicted area, but not too restrictive that it can be easily removed if the sensation is overbearing for some one,which may be an issue we face. Clinical risks for our product would be allergies. Many people are allergic to adhesives on bandages, or develop an irritating rash after several days of wearing medical adhesives. Another risk we may face is making the tape too sticky. While the product should be able to stay on around 5 days (but not recommended), and endure conditions such as water, people will not want to wear the product if they will experience pain removing the tape due to the adhesive being too sticky. Kinesio tape (a similar product) went through a clinical trial to find its clinical efficacy on people with shoulder pain. The trial was targeted specifically for college students. 42 subjects with rotator cuff tendonitis were placed into one of two groups randomly: one that used therapeutic kinesio tape, and one that used sham kinesio tape. They wore the tape for 2 consecutive 3 day intervals and their self-reported pain and disability was assessed. The results found the group wearing the therapeutic kinesio tape showed improvement in their shoulder pain and it was concluded that kinesio tape is effective for clinicians to use for short term pain relief. http://www.jospt.org/doi/abs/10.2519/jospt.2008.2791?code=jospt-site Market Analysis Value Creation Kinesio tape is already a well known concept which is used by many and a necessary tool for almost all physiotherapists. Where we create the value is in a perfect fitting premade outline which increases the convenience of KT tape, all in different sizes. This is because we have a unique design that has never been made or seen before and even an area for hot or cold compresses. Many people use these to help alleviate their back pain but it is often difficult to place at the right spot. By far, however, the biggest improvement upon previous designs is the independence we’ve created for customers. Due to the fact that we have a pre-cut design perfectly made for movement and relief, and an easy-to-use applicator, the customer does not need expensive physiotherapy appointments just to apply their tape. With our product the customer can apply our unique design entirely on their own, eliminating the need for cutting Kinesio tape, though you still can edit the design by cutting if you so desire. The different sizes are based on the length of the torso of the customer. This design will be able to decrease back pain even more than normal strips due to its unique shape and size. To summarize, our product creates value by creating independence from professionals, improving the design of an already successful product with the unique form, application and sizing, and integrates KT Tape with heat and cold packs. Manufacturing Cost To determine the manufacturing cost, the normal KT TAPE current manufacturing cost is approximately $1.30 per roll. Since our product will be using the same adhesive and 100% cotton bandage, but it will have an applicator included in the product. the predicted manufacturing cost for a two pack would be $3.50 for the bandages itself. then the applicator that comes with it is attached to the tape and that production cost would be $0.50. This is because plastic is cheap and easy to manufacture. Therefore the total cost to produce this product would be $4.00. The final cost of the product would be $4.33 without the heating and cooling pack, this includes the instructions, which would be $.03 and the packaging which would be $.30. Sales Price The anticipated average sales price would be $19.99 without the heating pack. This is in the same price range as other competitors but on the lower end of the scale to attract consumers. This includes the cost for endorsement fees that the company will be faced with as well as distribution to the consumers. The anticipated average sale price with the heating and cooling pack would be $26.50. This can be justified because our manufacturing cost is $4.33, so if we multiply this by a value between 4 and 5 we get our anticipated sales price which will allow profit while trying to give a fair price to the consumer. Market Size Back pain is unfortunately a common occurrence for many people. It is said that at any given time, “31 million Americans experience low-back pain.”1 Lower back pain is something people can self-diagnose, thus a doctor isn’t required for people to treat or alleviate their pain. Once a person has back pain, it is hard to focus on tasks throughout the day. According to the American Chiropractic Association, it is one of the main reasons why people miss work as well as the “second most common reasons for visits to the doctor’s office.”1 Although it may seem like a small issue, it is a widespread issue. With the growth of technology, more people are sitting at desks all day on their computer. This leads to bad posture and even more back pain. Our device also aims to correct the user’s posture which increases the number of people that could be interested in the product. Most jobs in the US “are sedentary or require only light activity” as a large majority of Americans work desk jobs.2 As many as “86% of American workers” sit all day for their job.3 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 157 million citizens are in the Civilian Labor Force which estimates around 135 million people working desk jobs. Another statistic to take into consideration is that “more than 80 percent of Americans will experience an episode of low back pain.” 4 To calculate the market size, 80% of the civilian labor force will be used which is 125 million people. We are also estimating that at least a quarter of the estimated market size will be interested in buying our product. To calculate the Market Size can be calculated with sales price * penetrance * number of customers. Depending on the product, our Market Size can vary from: Market Size = $19.99 * 0.25 * 125,000,000 = 624,687,500 Market Size = $26.50 * 0.25 * 125,000,000 = 828,125,000 1 “Back Pain Facts and Statistics” American Chiropractic Association. https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/Health-Wellness-Information/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics 2 Parker-Pope, Tara. “Less Active at Work, Americans Have Packed on Pounds.” 25 May 2011. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/less-active-at-work-americans-have-packed-on-pounds/ 3 Olson, Lindsay. “Sitting Disease: The Slow, Silent and Sedentary Killer of the American Workforce” 22 August 2013. https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/08/22/are-you-suffering-from-sitting-disease 4 “Chronic low back pain on the rise: UNC study finds ‘alarming increase’ in prevalence” UNC School of Medicine. https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/Health-Wellness-Information/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics Fundability Discussion "Total Score: 54"