Hello! My name is Matthew, and the article below is a summary of my innovation in the Fusion Cohort.

Pill crushers are devices used to turn solid medication tablets into a fine powder, making them easier to swallow or administer via feeding tubes. However, electric forms of these devices can be extremely expensive for medical facilities rendering them inaccessible for many. I’ve designed a model with hospitals in mind to make electrical pill crushers more cost-effective, environmentally friendly, sound-proof, and easy to use (for hospital staff and patients).

Here are some design photos:

The crusher works via a lead screw mechanism wherein a screw spins the crusher and pushes it down. By constricting the pressure plate from moving, I can also remove any rotational force that would’ve otherwise not made this project possible. I plan to spin the screw using a DC motor in the bottom compartment which is empty at the moment (due to time constraints. Please note that none of the compartments are supposed to be open, I just opened them up for a better visualisation.

Eventually, I hope to fully print out my project and hook up a DC motor to the screw to get my mechanism working. From there, I can add a 3D printed pushbutton to connect to the Arduino one (since it’s too small) so that the clients (hospital staff) can have ease of use.