The Giraffe Bottle System: Making Hands-Free Hydration Affordable for Individuals with Limited Upper-Body Functions

This Phase I SBIR develops and refines a prototype straw for the Giraffe Bottle Hands-Free Drinking System, improving the health and function of individuals with limited upper-body mobility by helping users and caregivers counteract the threat of chronic and acute dehydration, and giving users another level of independence. The main objective of this project is to redesign the straw of the Giraffe Bottle neck to meet certain performance and use objectives: (1) to eliminate accidental detachment of the Giraffe Bottle straw; (2) to develop a stiffer, but still adjustable, straw; (3) to develop a new, larger size straw for users with full lung function; (4) to maintain or improve the current low price point for users; and (5) to build a proof-of-concept assembly machine for the new straw. The project outcome is that a newly designed Giraffe Bottle straw is statistically significantly better in user experience and ease of use.