HYPERVAN
Mobilized Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy System
December 2017
Dr. Keith Van Meter
Dr. Keith Van Meter has a long history of saving lives in unconventional situations. An emergency medical physician by day, his true passion lies in field work - most notably as emergency practitioner for commercial offshore divers. Dr. Van Meter has treated many extreme cases of injury at depths which require the use of decompression before coming to surface.
As a leader and pioneer in the medicine of hyperbaric oxygen treatment, he witnessed first hand the remarkable life saving advantages of the technology and developed processes to administer the treatment- the Doctor knew that if HBOT could be delivered to emergency victims in a timely manner, the effects would be revolutionary.
In order for Dr. Keith Van Meter and his research lab to prove the concept, we devised a mobile solution which would be equipped to help deliver hyperbaric oxygen therapy to individuals suffering severe trauma remotely and within a narrow time window. We worked to develop a unique EMS system in emergency trauma situations. One of the key requirements was to seamlessly integrate his revolutionary treatment into standard emergency ambulance procedures. Current chambers on the market were either too large and cumbersome, or a small single person application with no ability to administer hands on treatment.
Module Packaging Design
The Hypervan system would need to be adaptable to any heavy duty series truck platform. Built to accommodate the Hyperpod and all supporting equipment, the intersection of pod and shell unit required efficient packaging. Medical specification standards as well as DOT regulations were considered as well all redundancies and fail safes.
Early package layout illustrates utilizing a Class 6 truck chassis. Two EMS technicians and one patient occupy the chamber. The HBOT technician requires a dedicated position for operating the compression controls and monitoring the stability of the system.
The Hypervan System
The Hypervan System Required for a patient to be retrieved and administered Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment while on route to the ER. Seamless docking of the Hyperpod chamber meant a conveyance method had to be conceived which would not interrupt the process.
Hyperpod chamber scale
The Hyperbaric Chamber was dubbed Hyperpod. The scale of the pod is critical to its' functionality- it must be light enough to transport as a module, yet spacious enough to administer standard EMS capabilities and equipment for a patient and stretcher.
Design Process.
Structural Engineering / Systems Packaging
Ergonomic Mockup
A scale representation of Hyperpod was constructed to evaluate the usability and limitations of the interior volume of the pod.
One of the main design challenges in designing HyperPod is that the exterior must be compact enough to navigate through hospital hallways, yet spacious enough inside to host a stretcher as well as two EMS agents.
Adding to the complexity, the main door must open inwards to the cabin for safety reasons, further limiting the floorspace afforded inside.
