Before the DualCap, open luers were a leading cause of accidental infection and death while in hospital. DualCap closes the door to pathogens by not only providing a physical seal to both the male luer connector at the end of the IV tubing and the needle-free valve, but also by disinfecting them in 30 seconds of contact with a 70% isopropyl solution (IPA) stored inside. In taking this idea to production from a bench-top model, our research brought us to two groups of user experience: the patient and the practitioner.

The patient needed any addition to their luer to be as unintrusive as possible, while the practitioner required intuitive differentiation between male and female componentry and ease of use. Of course, this couldn’t just work on paper or prototype. The client needed a form developed that could hold IPA, remain sterile, and be pulled out of tooling at high volume. Manufacturability ultimately lead to a simple solution servicing all 3 parties’ needs.

The DualCap’s size was able to be kept down by its unique ramp and thread connection method keeping it hardly noticable to the patient. The ramp and thread connection method meant that the practitioner just twists the two thumb pads and the caps separate themselves, while color was used to to denote the position each cap was meant to take, resulting in ease of use. The ramping was also used in manufacturing as a way of easing the separation of part and tool.

DualCap has drastically lowered the threat of infection in hospitals all over the world. We are proud to have been involved.