Patents on the soles of your shoes...: personal protection equipment

Showing posts with label personal protection equipment. Show all posts

Friday, October 23, 2020

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Nick Cave's Soundsuits

At the intersection of Black Lives Matter, the legacy of Jim Crow laws from the South, the resurgence of the KKK, and the horrors of the unequal impact of the COVID 19 pandemic in the USA, Nick Cave's Soundsuits, evoke yet another dimension of personal protection.

In the artist and dancer's own words, regarding the transformation and empowerment felt wearing a Soundsuit, Nick Cave states:

"a suit of armor where I hid my identity. I was inside a suit, you couldn't tell if I was a woman, or a man; if I was black, red, green or orange; from Haiti or South Africa. I was no longer Nick. I was a shaman of sorts." (Quoted in Fine Arts, Fall 2020.)

Sequin Reuse Soundsuit 2008 (1)

Birds Reuse Soundsuit

Stuffed Animals & Bean Bags Reuse Soundsuit, 2010.

Bird and Cat Soundsuit

Toy Top Reuse Soundsuit

Sequins Soundsuit

Crocheted Doily Reuse. (1) Soundsuit

Crocheted Doily Reuse (2) Soundsuit

(1) Recently acquired by the De Young Museum in San Francisco, CA, the Nick Cave Soundsuit (2008) is currently on show in the Museum's Saxe Gallery.

References

Burgard, T. A . (Fall 2020) Nick Cave's Sounsuits: Moving Sculpture. Fine Arts. p. 22. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - de Young - Legion of Honor.

Keiren (May 8, 2916) ) Nick Cave Soundsuits. Insteading https://insteading.com/blog/nick-cave-sound-suits/

Santora, O. Nick Cave Monograph. https://www.oliviasantora.com/nick-cave-monograph

SoundsuitShop http://soundsuitshop.com/SSS%20Sales%20Kit_2020.pdf

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Oh, patents! Safe auscultation with the Eko CORE (3)

The Eko CORE digital stethoscope attachment, an invention originally filed in 2015, in the utility patent application US2015257728 titled Stethoscope, Stethoscope Attachment and Collected Data Analysis Method and System, was designed to enable clinicians to convert their favorite analog stethoscopes into digital ones (1). The conversion from analog to digital not only enabled such prized features as sound amplification, noise cancelation, visualization of heart sounds on a dedicated app; storage, replay and sharing of recordings, it also opened up the possibilities of remote auscultation and diagnosis for underserved populations. Finally, if the attachment were designed in kid-friendly ways (e.g.; if it were to look like a butterfly), it was also anticipated that the Eko CORE digital attachment would then create a far friendlier experience for pediatric patients.

Five years later, within the unprecedented context of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Eko CORE digital attachment has generated renewed interest. Indeed, since the attachment is easily detached from the tubing and ear-pieces of a conventional stethoscope, the Eko CORE also arises as a device that enables safe auscultation in 5 easy steps, as shown in the below video. Five easy steps comprising:

Detaching the Eko CORE from the conventional stethoscope tubing.
Pairing the Eko CORE with a mobile device such as a smartphone.
Pairing wireless earbuds to a mobile device such as a smartphone.
Inserting the Eko CORE into a single-use protective sleeve, and the wireless earphones behind a mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE).
Proceeding with safe auscultation of the patient, with sound streaming wirelessly in real time, via Bluetooth® connection, to the smartphone, and from the smartphone to the wireless earbuds.

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Note (1): The original EKO CORE attachment invention was reviewed on April 1, 2015, at Patents on Soles of your Shoes.

Reference

EKO (website): https://www.ekohealth.com/

Friday, May 29, 2020

Terminology – Face shields (visières de protection) (1) Apple Inc.

Apple Inc., face shield

Within the context of the COVID19 pandemic shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), such as face masks and hazmat suits for medical personnel, many companies and individuals came through with various solutions. Solutions such as sourcing, manufacturing, or transferring local stockpiles to medical institutions, in collaboration with local and federal authorities.

One such effort was deployed by Apple Inc., which managed to source 20 million face masks through its global supply chain for donation to medical centers. Additionally, Apple Inc., put together a team of product designers, engineers, operations and packaging specialists to produce and ship several million face shields to wherever the most urgent needs arose, beginning with Kaiser in the California Santa Clara Valley (Byford, April 5, 2020).

The Apple Inc., face shield design comprises 3 parts: a forehead band, a transparent face shield, and a latex-free silicone strap. The forehead band has several slots enabling the silicone strap to be threaded at different points to accommodate both varying head circumference and space between the shield and the user's face. The three parts, comprising the face shield, are easy to assemble, in less than 2 minutes. The face shields also pack flat, as sheets,100 to a box.

Below, the QR codes for 1> User information on how the Apple Inc., face shield is assembled, adjusted, cleaned and reused; and 2> Maker information on how to fabricate an Apple Inc., face shield.