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Leggings to improve running speed, seed saver + hand massager feature at UWE’s design show Final year degree projects featuring an array of innovative ideas including a hand massager for people with arthritis, leggings designed to improve running speed and a nifty device for gardeners to save seeds were displayed at ‘Plan + Make’ earlier this month. ‘Plan + Make’ showcased the work from five departments across the Faculty of Environment and Technology. (FET). Kurt Gauss, Associate Head of Department, Engineering Design and Mathematics, said, “The combined work in the exhibition showed a broad cross section of investigation and design solutions that address issues our society is facing today. The products and services presented by our graduates demonstrate outstanding competencies in research, critical analysis, design synthesis, brand development, service mapping, design engineering and human centred design.” Professor Paul Olomolaiye, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of FET enthuses, “From architecture through to games technology, mechanical engineering to product design, geography to music technology, this year ‘plan + make’ is the most ambitious and exciting degree show we have ever had.” Exhibits included work from final year students from the full range of courses in the Faculty of Environment and Technology. Will Drake 4th Year Product Design Technology Hand massager for people with arthritis Will Drake and the working model for his hand massager Will Drake has designed a hand massage machine to help improve the quality of life for people who suffer from arthritis. He conducted research at the Bath Royal Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases where he met with health practitioners and patients to help inform his design. Will explains, “I discovered that one of the most difficult times in the day for people with acute arthritis is first thing in the morning. At this time joints are particularly stiff and many people say that this is the worst time of day when they suffer the most pain in their joints. “I have designed a hand massage device that utilizes airbags and infra red heat to soothe aches and pains. The unit mimics the Paraffin wax bath treatment used in hospitals that inspired this idea, and adds a massage element to the treatment, that also aids movement.” Drawings for the hand massager by Will Drake 18 Aaron Colfer 4th year Creative Product Design The Seed Pod The Seed Pod designed by Aaron Colfer Aaron Colfer has designed The Seed Pod, a fail safe way of enabling seed bank organisations, allotment owners and gardeners to preserve and store endangered seeds from the plants that they grow. He discovered that there is a market for a product that allows all seed savers, from heritage seed banks to allotment holders, to safely preserve seeds. Aaron explains, “In order that seeds will germinate it is critical that once collected they are cleaned, dried and stored carefully. Stuffing seeds into an envelope and storing in a garden shed in often damp conditions will risk a seed failing to germinate but many gardeners derive enormous pleasure from saving and sharing seeds. “Working with Robin Probert, who heads up seed conservation and technology at Kew Gardens’ Millennium Seed Bank, I have come up with a way of improving a seed collection kit that they had devised. “My Seed Pod design is compact enough to store in the fridge, it The Seed Pod designed by Aaron Colfer weighs next to nothing and can be offered to the market at a low cost. I’ve had great feedback from the people I’ve been talking to during the research stages and I hope to take the Seed Pod into production when I graduate. “The Seed Pod prototype is made from co polyester which has great thermal properties. It features an indicator sachet that turns orange when the seeds are dry enough to store in the fridge, a built-in lens to make it easy to view the seeds indicator and is designed to be stackable making storage in limited domestic fridge spaces possible. I consider this to be a breakthrough product that will create its own market.”
Chris Hedges, Product Design Technology and Creative Product Design Leggings to reduce injury and improve running technique When Product Design Technology student Chris Hedges discovered that eight out of ten marathon runners get injured every year, he decided to create a product that would help to reduce injury and enhance running technique. 'Refine' is a pair of specially designed leggings that uses TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) bands to help the body maintain a better shape and posture for running. Chris explains, "Refine is based on the principal of using the body's own awareness to train the relevant muscles. By placing the bands strategically we are encouraging the body to prepare the right muscles needed in the movements required in running. Refine follows the natural posture of the body and is a gentle system that will proprioceptively encourage the correct posture for running and improve technique.” “It is suitable for all levels - novice, regular and elite, and the product includes an online training package aimed at these different levels. I hope to take the concept forward and plan to test the product further with running groups. I really enjoy solving user-centred design problems and my course has really helped me get to grips with this type of design.” Chris is already working for 'Innovate Product Design' based in Salisbury. 19 UWE in project to design new sensor for premature babies Sensor technology developed at UWE is being used to design a brand new sensor aimed at detecting a devastating condition affecting premature babies. The disease, called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), typically strikes without warning. By the time it is diagnosed, babies are often already extremely ill. Each year in the UK, around 3,000 babies develop the serious bowel problem. Up to 35 per cent of these babies die and survivors often develop long-term health problems. Researchers are now developing a new diagnostic test using smell, which could allow babies with the disease to be identified and treated sooner. They hope this will reduce the likelihood of the disease progressing and therefore limit the devastating consequences. The project, funded by children’s charity Action Medical Research, is led by the Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Researchers at UWE, Bristol Royal Infirmary and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust are developing the sensor which works by detecting gases – or, more specifically, volatile organic compounds – that are emitted by babies’ faeces early in the disease process. The pioneering chemical sensor technology developed by Professor Norman Ratcliffe, Dr Ben de Lacy Costello and Dr Natasha Mcguire (all HLS) and Chris Probert from the University of Bristol, is already being used to rapidly diagnose Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), by analysing the gases from stool samples. Professor Norman Ratcliffe says, “We knew the technology for detecting C. difficile had potential far beyond that – it could be used for a range of other gastrointestinal diseases as well as lung and urinary tract diseases too. Our ultimate goal is to deliver a point-of-care device which can rapidly improve patient care.” Dr Alexandra Dedman, Senior Research Evaluation Manager, for Action Medical Research, said, “Up to 8 per cent of newborns in neonatal units develop this disorder. Doctors and nurses must be constantly on the lookout for symptoms of NEC, as premature babies in neonatal units can develop the disease at any time, with little or no warning. “No current test can reliably identify babies in the early stages of the disease so we are really pleased to be funding this important research project which could make such a difference to babies’ lives.” Babies who develop NEC can need emergency surgery to remove damaged parts of their intestines. Up to half of babies who survive the disease develop health problems. Some fail to put on weight properly, they can develop serious infections and liver damage, and nutritional problems can mean they have to be fed through a tube that goes directly into their bloodstream. Babies can also develop significant hearing, vision and movement problems. Developing a new sensor could allow the screening of premature babies for NEC to become routine for the first time ever. The design of the device should mean it is suitable for regular use alongside babies’ cots in neonatal units. If the results of this project are positive, then clinical trials would follow. The project has been funded for two and a half years with a grant of £131,638 from Action Medical Research. For more information see: The diarrhoea diagnostic device: from bench to bedside http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/hls/as/research/ researchshowcase.aspx
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