Prone Ventilation Table
// ABSTRACT
For EGR 101 at Duke, my team of four was assigned Duke Hospital as a client to design a first-of-its-kind medical table enabling the prone-position ventilation of COVID-19 and trauma patients. Prone ventilation is a clinically proven intervention that improves oxygenation in severe respiratory distress, but existing equipment is not designed for it. Our medium-fidelity prototype met all major client criteria and was accepted by Duke Hospital with plans for continued development, potential patenting, and eventual mass production.
SKILLS
TOOLS
Clinical Context
Prone positioning — placing critically ill patients face-down — has been shown to significantly improve oxygenation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), including severe COVID-19 cases. However, standard hospital beds and support surfaces are not designed for prone positioning, creating risks for both patients and clinical staff.
Duke Hospital approached EGR 101 with a need for a specialized table that would support prone-positioned patients safely, accommodate ventilation equipment, and allow clinical access to the patient.
Design Process
Client Engagement
Throughout the semester, our team maintained regular contact with the Duke Hospital client team to refine the design criteria. Key constraints included:
- Must support a range of patient sizes
- Must allow clinician access to patient airway, IV lines, and monitoring equipment
- Must be height-adjustable for use alongside standard hospital beds
- Must be manufacturable within a prototype budget
- Must not interfere with ventilator tubing routing
Needs Analysis
We translated clinical needs into engineering specifications through structured interviews with the client and a review of existing prone ventilation approaches in the literature. The key insight was that existing prone positioning pillows were inadequate for extended prone sessions — the table needed to distribute load across the patient's torso while keeping the chest cavity uncompressed.
Design Development
Multiple concepts were evaluated before arriving at the final design:
- Full-length flat table (rejected: no chest cavity relief)
- Modular support pads (rejected: insufficient load distribution consistency)
- Selected: Central chest cutout with adjustable lateral support rails
The selected design provides a central opening to prevent chest compression, lateral rails that adjust to patient width, and height adjustment via a simple mechanical mechanism.
Prototyping
The medium-fidelity prototype was built using:
- Structural frame: Woodworking — dimensional lumber jointed and fastened for structural rigidity
- Surface panels: Laser-cut plywood, sized to fit the frame precisely
- Adjustable components: Slot-and-pin adjustment mechanisms for lateral rail positioning
We also researched existing medical table hardware and salvaged adjustable components from surplus equipment to accelerate development cycles and reduce cost.
Validation
The prototype was evaluated against all major client criteria:
- Load distribution tested with a weighted form
- Chest cutout clearance verified against client-specified dimensions
- Height adjustment tested across the specified range
- Clinician access confirmed for key intervention points
All major criteria were met.
Outcome
The prototype was presented to Duke Hospital at the end of the semester and accepted by the client. The design was approved for continued development toward a high-fidelity prototype, with the long-term goal of patenting and potential mass production.
This project was my first experience with client-driven engineering — where the success criteria are defined by someone who will actually use the device to help patients. That framing changed how I think about the purpose of engineering.