Medical | Testing Functional Prototypes

I modeled in CAD four and five pointed star anchors for the retention mechanism of the PEG button (reminder: a PEG button is a tube that is placed through a patient's abdominal wall to feed directly to the stomach or small intestine). After iterating through modeling, 3D printing, and testing (and breaking!), I ended up with a silicone covered mushroom cage retention mechanism, which basically works like a drywall anchor and is based off of a medical research paper in London that uses endoscopic "mushroom cage" tubes that have four tabs (what I call four pointed star anchors).

I also designed the top (or external) part of the button. The goal is to make it look more like an accessory rather than a medical device (if you search "peg tube" you will see what I mean). It should look beautiful yet be comfortable for the patient. Out of the two directions, I decided the soft and rounded base since the other could pinch a swollen stoma (the hole in the abdominal wall) instead of letting it breathe (which was my initial intention).