Medical lines are extremely prevalent in the hospital, yet the most widely used solution for securement is tape. Unfortunately, there are many delirious patients in the hospital (up to 20% of adults!) who interfere with their lines such that they need to be replaced. Often, physical or chemical restraints such as cloth bands or sedatives must be employed to prevent line interference. Restraints are a last-resort measure that lead to worse patient outcomes, but without a better line retainer, there are no other options – it is even more costly to replace the line.

Therefore, we have designed an arm brace that prevents interference and prevents necessity of restraints. The S-shaped design allows force exerted by the patient to be distributed across the device, thereby minimizing probability of device failure. Using a magnetic clasping mechanism, the device can be removed with two hands easily by staff, but the patient is unable to remove it themselves. Compared to devices that currently exist, our design is able to be placed anywhere on the arm.

We tested some critical design inputs to ensure the functionality of the device. To simulate a patient pulling at their line, we tested if the line could withstand 5 pounds of force without being displaced more than 1 centimeter. We also made sure that it was able to withstand the pressure that could be exerted by patients without structural compromise.

Moving forward, we plan on testing our design clinically, ensuring reusability, and reducing production costs. We envision that hospitals will take advantage of having a design like ours to make lives easier for healthcare workers, decrease costs, but most importantly, allow patients to be free of restraints.