Allergic reactions are very common. Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that can be triggered by food, stings, bites, medicines, latex, or even exercise. Symptoms include redness of the skin, tightness in the throat, breathing problems, and/or a decrease in blood pressure.
As part of my research, I took apart my own Epipen to see how it worked. I also tested the product on some oranges. I found that the size of the product could be easily decreased while still maintaining the necessary amount of epinephrine.
Design opportunities included decreasing size to increase portability, utilizing more sustainable plastics, creating a design that augmented disassembly, and increasing the efficiency of disposal methods.
For my inspiration, I looked to key chains and items commonly found on them such as USB flash drives, pepper spray, and pens. All of these items have qualities (ergonomic, portable, and easily accessible) that I wanted to incorporate into my design.
I wanted my design to take advantage of the epipen’s opportunities for improvement. I focused on the form of the product in order to enhance its portability and discretion.
The MiniEpi can be easily attached to a keychain.
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MiniEpi
The focus of this project was redesign an existing product with the goal of increasing its sustainability and improving its design. The product I chose to redesign was the Epipen. The main design opportunities I found included the product’s portability and material use.
