Design for Healthcare : An investigation into medical devices

This thesis seeks to evaluate and contribute to the personalization of medical devices such as casts, braces, and prosthetics. These products require a high degree of adjustment to the human body to aid medical patients suffering from various physical conditions.

Through adaptation and corresponding to human bodily movements, they reshape the physical capabilities, the way a person relates to the surroundings and finally the meaning in experience, often reaching a deeply emotional level.

This transformation is often challenging and conflicting. Back braces used to treat the abnormality of spinal curvature, a condition called Scoliosis, are an example of an opposition-based relationship instead of adaptation. During the background research, the typology of scoliosis back braces was investigated, and it became evident that the field would not benefit from another design solution.

On the other hand, Scoliosis patients have daily difficulties with mass-produced products as they tend to follow standardized morphologies; they can not accommodate their different spinal curvature and individual body shape.

This thesis, therefore, aims to observe the movements and interactions between daily objects and people with Scoliosis to identify the problematic or ergonomically stressful points. Based on the research outputs, I use prototyping and experimentation to design an assistive furniture that emphasizes adaptability and customization properties on a subject that originated from the medical field.