The technology behind strollers is incredible. They think of everything—child safety, storage space and even cup holders. To top it off, most strollers even have a collapsibility feature, which allows for easy storage and travel.
Can you imagine how much easier it would be to transport a custom medical cart in a similar fashion?
Reasons for Collapsible Medical Carts
Now, before we jump into the mechanics of making a medical cart collapsible, it's good to know what scenarios call for a collapsible cart because, much like high-tech strollers, a collapsible cart may not be as cost efficient as one might think for reasons we'll discuss later in this blog.
- sales and marketing personnel may like a collapsible cart to take to trade shows or use in presentations
- some companies will rent out medical carts or devices to other facilities for uncommon procedures
- the medical cart's purpose requires traveling to multiple locations
Example: A dialysis pump cart used for in-home setup.
Challenges with Collapsible Medical Carts
Similar to a stroller, a collapsible medical cart must be robust enough to be safe and functional. From a design standpoint, this comes down to component reliability and tight tolerances to make sure it fits together well every time. Potential custom collapsible carts require a small footprint, which may pose an additional challenge in weight distribution for larger devices. As always, human error must be taken into consideration. Small pieces of hardware might get lost and you run the risk of not assembling it correctly, both of which might raise a safety hazard.
Every custom medical cart comes with its own set of challenges, and a collapsible cart is no exception. As for any economic challenges, the main concern comes down to volume.
Obviously, sales and marketing personnel needs don't require a high-volume product. The same logic can be applied to custom collapsible cart rentals. This is why our engineers and project manager highly suggest discussing volume, budget and purpose before initiating a custom collapsible medical cart project.
Collapsible Cart Solutions
Some of these obstacles may seem harrowing or tedious, but as with most challenges, the solutions are right around the corner. Most of the obstacles noted above can be solved with additional time dedicated to design engineering, detail-oriented planning and verification and validation that the collapsible mechanisms will work every time. This type of design requires cycle testing, user studies, etc. However, if a collapsible medical cart fits your needs, budget and lead time, your engineer design team will welcome the challenge.
Allternative Solutions
In some cases, a collapsible cart might not be the most cost effective option, but you can always optimize for assimilability by utilizing similar hardware and fasteners, which will minimize the number of tools needed to assemble and dissemble the device. Other options include having features that snap together and don’t require any tools, which lessens the risk of losing hardware or human error.
At HUI, we are dedicated to understanding our customers’ needs and are prepared to take on any challenge. Contact us today to get your project underway.
