Vaccaria Process Book by Diana Lee

VACCARIA: PERSONALIZED AURICULOTHERAPY PROCESS BOOK DIANA LEE

WINTER 2015

PD 483

BRIEF To design an in-ear device to passively help Brian McWhorter ease his pain caused by playing the trumpet. Western medicine is commonly used to treat visible symptoms. Our society has taught us to want instant gratification which leads to the abundance of pain medications that treat pain but not the underlying cause of pain. “Vaccaria” facilitates the natural, self-regulating homeostatic mechanisms of the body by diminishing overactive bodily functions or by increasing underactive physiological processes to create healing not just pain relief.

ACCARIA PERSONALIZED AURICULOTHERAPY

ABOUT THE USER BRIAN MCWHORTER is 40 years old and an Associate Professor of Trumpet at the University of Oregon. He has been playing the trumpet since high school and was born with a weakness in his pharyngeal wall that he has exacerbated with the excessive pressure trumpet playing requires.

BRIANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CONDITION DOUBLE EXTERNAL PHARYNGOCELE (n.)

SYMPTOMS

Protrusion of mucous membrane through the wall of the pharynx; hernia of the pharynx.

- Difficulty swallowing

Excessive pressure from playing the trumpet has caused the weakest point of his pharyngeal wall to balloon out. The ballooning on his left side causes pressure on his vagus nerve and pinches it Excessive scar tissue built up from first operation renders him unable to be a candidate for endoscopic treatment.

CHANGES SINCE HIS INJURY 1. PRACTICE TIME

- Anger/Frustration - Full body pain caused by the vagus nerve - Nausea - Inflammation

BEFORE AFTER

3. PAIN LEVEL

3-6 HOURS

LEVEL 0-1

20 MIN

LEVEL 3-4

2. PERFORMING 10-12 PERFORMANCES/TERM 5-7 PERFORMANCES

4. RECOVERY TIME LITTLE TO NONE 2-3 DAYS

AURICULOTHERAPY is the stimulation of the auricle of the external ear, which is believed to be the microsystem for the entire body, for the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions in other parts of the body. Auriculotherapy facilitates the natural, self-regulating homeostatic mechanisms of the body by diminishing overactive bodily functions or by increasing underactive physiological processes. This process creates a healing not just pain relief. One form of auriculotherapy is acupressure seeds. Vaccaria plant seeds are taped to the ear on acupressure points creating continuous mild pressure that trigger endorphins in the brain to help relieve pain. These seeds are left on the ear for 3-4 days and massaged every hour.

CONSULTING A PROFESSIONAL MARY ANN PETERSEN LICENSED AURICULOTHERAPIST

http://www.goodmedicineeugene.com/mary-annpetersen/ No more than 5 or 6 points should be stimulated at one time. It can become too intense for many patients. Accuracy should be within about 20% of where the pressure point is, but many points have a wide surface area so as long as you are in the general area it will be effective. Accupressure seeds are about 1/16th of an inch. Some say that steel balls are used to be calming while gold balls are used to excite.

SHEN MEN:

Treats: stress, anxiety, depression, inflammation Brian’s Symptom: Inflammation LIVER: Treats: repressed rage, irritability, myofascial pain, muscle tensions, increases blood flow Brian’s Symptom: anger and frustration, myofascial pain ZERO POINT: Treats: balances body, brain, hormones; homeostatic state General point to bring balance to one’s body STOMACH: Treats: weightloss, nausea, digestion Brian’s Symptom: nausea HEART: Treats: memory problems, sleep impairment. A.K.A. ”emperor of the organs” Improves general health of all organs SAN JIAO: Treats: circulatory, glandular, chest and abdominal problems Brian’s Symptoms: pain in organs the vagus nerve runs through

AURICULAR DIAGRAM

EARLY CONCEPTS AND SKETCHE RUBBER COATED 1/16” STAINLESS STEEL BALLS

PLUG MASSAGE

FILTER

SILICONE RUBBER SHORE HARDNESS 30 A

MIMICKS EAR CANAL

MUSICIAN’S SOUND FILTER

EARBUD ADAPTER NOISE CANCELLING EARBUDS

THE PROCESS

CASTING USER’S EAR Fast setting silicone rubber was used to cast the shape of the user’s ear. A piece of plastic kept his jaw open to open up the ear canal to ensure a snug fit.

CASTING SILICONE Smooth-Onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mold Start 15 Silicone was used to create the ear mold. Clay and foam core were used to create the shape of the mold.

EXPERIMENTATION Initial prototypes were made with SmoothOnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dragon Skin Fx Pro 30 to have a dense enough form to easily fit into the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ears. During testing we found that the steel balls were not reliably attached to the ear plugs but found that the form fit nicely and accurately pressed on the points I wanted to target.

Depth also presented itself an issue when it came to the earbud housing so I switched from creating an elastic top layer to designing an adapter.

“...It’s a weird sensation. Still, I trust you (for some reason) and have been wearing them off and on. I know there should be a benefit but I think the 'problem' with this kind of thing is that the benefit doesn't immediately present itself. I'm an American and I expect instant gratification.” - Brian McWhorter

MAKING The main body of the ear plug was initially designed to be poured in 2 layers but changed to become a single pour. Ear canals were created using clay and the sound blocks and the earbud adapaters were created using a two part mold around sound blocks and wire. Since I could not find an adhesive that would successfully bond the steel to silicone, rubber coated steel balls will be used.

VACCARIA “Vaccaria” is a personalized ear massage tool. Each user picks certain pains or ailments that they want to improve and “Vaccaria” targets those areas by applying localized pressure to the corresponding points on the user’s ear. Each piece is custom molded to fit the user’s ear and takes the guess work out of locating these points yourself. The custom fit creates mild continuous pressure on these points and light massaging with fingers stimulates those points further. “Vaccaria” also transforms into hearing protection and noise cancelling headphones with the use of “Vaccaria”’s accessories.

ACCARIA PERSONALIZED AURICULOTHERAPY

The form of Vaccaria is designed so that the user can hear and engage in their surroundings if they choose so.

The sound filter and sound block are options for musicians who may need varying degrees of protection on stage and during practice.

The earbud adapter is an option for users who want to enjoy uninterrupted music with noise cancelling ear buds.

AESTHETICS When interviewing Brian to understand his aesthetic preferences he had mentioned that he doesn’t want something that would call attention to his injury. “Vaccaria” can be used by anyone and is designed to only be visible on a small area of the body. It can be made with fleshtones to camoflauge it with the user’s skin. Ideally the user would wear “Vaccaria” for a few hours at a time and so I wanted it to be able to feel like it was a part of you. The custom fit allows you to place it in your ear and forget about it.

PACKAGING Small 2x3 box compartmentalized into 3 sections. Large section houses cushion for ear plugs. Smaller sections house ear bud adapters, sound block, and sound filters. Deeper cavities prevent smaller items such as the blocks from falling our during opening of the package. It is small enough to put in a purse, briefcase, or backpack to carry on the go while protecting the contents inside.

ERAPY

ACCARIA PERSONALIZED AURICULOTHERAPY

Diana Lee Product and Materials Studies University of Oregon Senior Studio Winter 2016