Pyxis Cabinet Hack
Pyxis medication cabinets are used extensively throughout hospitals all over the world. At Auckland City Hospital it was noticed that recurrent system errors, caused by unclosed internal drawers, were greatly reducing the overall convenience and efficacy of the system. Ara Manawa Product Designer Ashleigh Kennedy worked alongside the Clinical Engineering team and ADHB pharmacists to build a solution.
A sophisticated system offering secure drug storage connected to a computer system logging requests, quantities and access, Pyxis cabinets are designed to reduce the amount of time clinical staff spend accessing medications after hours, and provide secure storage. The complexity of this system however does mean that any operational problems nessessitate a full system reboot, and a common issue with internal Cubies™ inside the main drawers not being closed by staff meant there were regular out of hours calls to bring staff in to do this.
The project came with large constraints – no deconstruction and/or physical changes could be made to the cabinets themselves.
Primary Objectives:
Reduce system errors and afterhours staff callouts.
Make no permanent physical changes to the cabinet.
Allow the cabinet to function without creating any further issues.
Over three months a physical solution was developed, using clinical engineering and product design expertise.
Following initial experimentation with alternatives, a 3D printed wiper made from TPU plastic was proposed. Wipers were iteratively designed, prototyped and tested to fit above each drawer. After each round of prototyping and testing, further developments were made.
After 5 rounds of testing, and over 20 3D prints, the solution was found in a reworking of an early concept, offering the flexibility and rigidity needed to click the Cubies shut. Permanent damage and alterations were avoided by the utilisation of tape adhesion, making the wipers easily adjustable and flexible. The new seals have been installed on all Pyxis cabinet drawers in the hospital, and will be continually tested and monitored.