Difficulty in Opening Glass Ampoules

Nurses play a pivotal role in the healthcare sector; we are all well acquainted with this fact amidst the pandemic. A significant yet underestimated task they usually face is snapping off the glass ampoule necks in order to draw the medicine into the syringe during the course of treating patients. This paper ascertains that most of the nurses who encountered this problem were prone to cuts and injuries on their hands due to the sharp edges and medicine spills from the glass ampoules respectively. Thus, the present study aims to address this concern by employing the principles of design thinking as a part of a first- year engineering course; design thinking for social innovation. An active engagement was initiated with the nurses affiliated to a multispecialty hospital situated in Hubballi, Karnataka, India. A keychain glass ampoule opener capable of opening ampoules of 4 different sizes was built as a prototype taking into account the prevention of wounds caused by the uneven edges of the glass ampoules.