Ring cutters and ring removal in the emergency department
Project Overview
Emergency physicians commonly face the challenge of removing a metal ring from an injured digit. Occasionally, a ring must be removed after it has become entrapped on a digit when, for example, a person places a ring which is too small on their finger and edema prevents the ring from being removed. Under such circumstances, a ring cutting tool must be used to remove the ring from the finger. The most commonly used ring cutters are made of steel and are either manually operated or battery powered. These devices work well on rings made of gold or silver but physicians often have a difficult time removing modern rings made of hard metals such as titanium and tungsten carbide.
Tungsten carbide is known for its hardness, durability, and limited susceptibility to scratches, which makes them a popular choice for jewelry and especially for wedding rings. Current ring cutting device and techniques for Tungsten carbide can lead to strong patient discomfort, thus we need to design a better ring cutting system for both cutting hard metal rings more efficiently and to protect patients and staff from discomforts.
Team Picture
Files
- PDS (September 29, 2019)
- Final Report (December 11, 2019)
- Preliminary Presentation (October 3, 2019)
- Poster (December 5, 2019)
- Preliminary Report (December 5, 2019)
Contact Information
Team Members
- Camille Duan - Team Leader
- James Tang - Communicator
- Maggie Zhou - BSAC & BPAG
- Kavya Vasan - BWIG
Advisor and Client
- Prof. Tracy Jane Puccinelli - Advisor
- Dr. Chris Green - Client