DripCrown

How it fits together

DripCrown, part by part

Scroll or tap a part. Press “See the 3D CAD design” to watch the model, built from our CAD, light each part up and show how it connects.

See the 3D CAD designShow the concept

Real-time 3D render · drag to rotate · final design may varySwipe sideways to rotate

1. 01

   The whole DripCrown

   Scales under the hooks weigh each IV bag while a clip camera counts drips; the Crown alerts nurses on rate drift, stop or empty.

2. 02Brain

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown)

   The brain: it runs the dripcrown-fw program

3. 

   03

   Load cells (x2)

   Hold each bag hook and flex slightly as the bag empties

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown) · Analog bridge wires · Millivolt weight signal

4. 04

   HX711 amplifiers (x2)

   Turn each load-cell signal into a 24-bit number

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown) · Two GPIO pins each · 24-bit weight readings

5. 05

   DripClip camera

   Watches the drip chamber and counts drops

   XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense · ESP-NOW (Wi-Fi radio) · Drop intervals and flags

6. 

   06

   Light ring

   Shows green, amber or red across the ward

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown) · One GPIO data line (D8) · LED colour data

7. 07

   Buzzer and ACK button

   Sounds an alert; the nurse presses to silence it

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown) · GPIO pins (FET, button) · Buzzer drive, button press

8. 

   08

   18650 cell

   Runs the Crown for days between USB-C charges

   XIAO ESP32-C3 (Crown) · Battery lead to charger · Battery power

9. 09

   All connected

   7 key parts, one program, and your phone

The idea

The ward's own IV stands, made smart: each weighs every bag and watches every drip, and tells the nurse's phone first

How the parts connect

DripCrown, wired up

Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.

The program

What controls DripCrown

void loop() {
  for (int h = 0; h < 2; h++) {
    float g = scale[h].read_grams();        // HX711, 10 SPS
    if (abs(g - last[h]) > 5) win[h].restart();
    else win[h].push(g);
    last[h] = g;
  }
  DripMsg d;
  if (espnow_poll(&d)) fuse(d);             // drop intervals from DripClip
  State s = evaluate(win, set_rate);        // drift, stopped, free flow, end
  ring_show(s);                             // NeoPixel colour
  if (s.red && !acked) buzzer_on();
  if (s.changed) mqtt.publish(topic_event, to_json(s));
}

To your phone

How the data reaches DripCrown ward board

Nurse phone or ward dashboard browser

1. DripClip
2. ESP-NOW (encrypted)
3. Crown
4. Wi-Fi · MQTT/TLS
5. Edge hub or ward broker
6. Push and local web app
7. Nurse phone

Key specs

Targets for production units; they may change during development.

Pricing

Target pricing. $49 per extra DripClip. Parts cost is about $101 per Bed Kit at qty 1 and about $68 at qty 100 (est.).

Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.

1. 28 Oct 2026, 15:25LatestA ward or vet clinic that runs gravity drips needs to know about an empty bag, a stopped line or a runaway drip between rounds; in one 114,793-alert ward study 74% of alerts were blockage or rate drift, and a clip-on drop monitor costs about $335 to 480 per line (sources in DESIGN.md).

   • Drawn idea plan (idea.json): a six-bed ward bay at night from above with an IV stand by each bed, the corridor and the nurses' station; pins for the crown on a stand, the drip camera on its line, a weight-only crown on another stand and the ward view at the station
   • The product picture is now this drawn plan instead of the plain fallback card; drawn from the rev A design notes, not the CAD
   • What we kept from the market work: vet clinics first, human wards after clearance; it monitors and alerts only and never touches the flow
   • Next: drawn plans for more catalogue products, then deeper market checks on the flagships

   See it in 3DFull research and design

2. 27 Oct 2026, 11:45A patient on a gravity drip who also needs oxygen has a bag and a cylinder beside the bed that both run out. NHS England reviewed 120 oxygen cylinder incidents in 12 months, some with the cylinder empty at the point of use, and hospitals pay $78–189 plus a clamp up to $143 for holders that put the cylinder on the IV pole but tell nobody anything. Our own two products for it cost $448 and $10 a month a bed.

   • Combined into WardPole (https://iemilabs.com/products/wardpole/); DripCrown itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

3. 25 Oct 2026, 05:29Gravity drips are badly inaccurate (a 1985 study found under 15% of observations within ±10% of the ordered rate) → every bag is weighed, so flow and time left come from mass, not from a guessed drop factor

   • New design: 4 printed parts in code CAD, bought parts fit-checked
   • Market research, hardware list and use case written up
   • Design page and kit render published
   • Product page added

   See it in 3DFull research and design