Embodiment of a laparoscopic tower for the Kenyan healthcare context

Limited access to surgical care in low- and middle-income countries has resulted in the loss of approximately 16.9 million lives annually, accounting for 32% of global deaths. This is more than tuberculosis, malaria and HIV combined.<br/><br/>Several factors contribute to this disparity, including the scarcity of surgical equipment. Despite the...

Disease and design in twentieth-century South Africa: exploring the consequences of the 1918–19 Spanish Flu pandemic through contributions of émigré Dutch architects

During the most of the twentieth century, design and construction (architecture) in South Africa closely followed western trends. A recent publication Common Ground: Dutch-South African Architectural Exchanges 1902-1961 highlights conclusions on research into the legacy of émigré Dutch built environment professional in the built environment of...

Supporting pregnant women with gestational hypertension when bringing about diet change

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that include gestational hypertension are seen to complicate pregnancies worldwide. Even if hypertension resolves postpartum, these women are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular issues in the future. So, they are recommended lifelong lifestyle changes that include making adjustments to their diet...

Finding the land, planting first seeds: lead user research in early stage design for intelligent ecosystems

This contribution explores the potential of lead user research for early-stage designing for intelligent ecosystems through a literature review and a single case study concerning a lead user research initiative on blood pressure monitoring. The results suggest advantages of executing lead user research in early-stage designing for intelligent...

The healthcare design dilemma: perils of a technology-driven design process for medical products

This paper reports an embedded single case study from a globally operating manufacturer for digital healthcare products. Based on nine semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and a diary study among employees, we were able to gain insights on the daily business routines and interactions of the design team, the UX research team, and the...

Zorg zonder Zorgen: Het ontwerpen van een stress reducerende zorgomgeving voor mensen met een chronische ziekte en hun mantelzorgers

This study was aimed at developing a design guide for stress reducing healthcare facilities for people with a chronic disease and their caregivers. This study was conducted with literature research, interviews and analyzing reference projects. The results of the literature research show the impact of stress on the different users, the importance...

Designing a promising way towards better (colorectal) cancer care in Dijklander Ziekenhuis

Cancer is a complex disease which requires interdisciplinary care. There are various developments ongoing within cancer care and its complexity. A task reallocation which is boosted by the government and new standards from SONCOS make it compulsory to have a fixed point of contact for cancer patients. Dijklander Ziekenhuis wants to introduce...

Insight.me: Enabling a collaborative use of healthcare data

This thesis presents research on data and healthcare and proposes a design vision that enables collaborative use of self-tracked data. This work was developed within the Cardiolab as a graduation work in Strategic Product Design. It aimed to identify the needs and aspirations of practitioners and patients and, then, embody the findings on a...

Actuator for oral care in edentulous elderly patients

There are currently no technological options in the market for the oral care of edentulous population. Dental Robotics, a company already involved in the production of dental care devices for elderlies, is interested in new technological solutions to attend this sector. The design is challenging as it has to meet several requirements: 1) be...

Evaluating the Psychosocial Impact of Indoor Public Spaces in Complex Healthcare Settings

Objective: This article describes an approach to a metrics-based evaluation of public space in hospitals using cross-disciplinary qualitative and quantitative analyses. The method, Indoor Public Space Measurement (IPSM), is well suited to researchers and designers who intend to evaluate user-centered spatial solutions in hospitals and similar...

Dynamics of an orthopaedic team: Insights to improve teamwork through a design thinking approach

Supporting teamwork in healthcare is a way to foster both the quality and safety of care, and better working conditions for all the team members. Although increasing attention is paid to this topic on a general level, there is less knowledge about its unfolding in orthopaedic units and its translation to interventions. OBJECTIVE: To identify...

Integrated product system for children under five for India and Kenya: Tackling scalability and usability in complex healthcare systems by Context Variation by Design approach

Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) face major issues throughout the continuum of primary healthcare for child care (0-5 years). Altogether more than 10 million children die each year in developing countries before they reach their fifth birthday. WHO and UNICEF created an Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy to tackle...

Architecture & Loneliness: Designing against loneliness among the elderly

Economical feasibility of prefabricated solutions in healthcare design and construction industry

For almost five years, healthcare design and construction sector is in my focus.<br/>I started my experience in this field from design proposal of health-improving and rehabilitation center in Moscow which was my master thesis in Moscow Architectural Institute (MArchI) in 2012. After graduation I also worked as an architect in large...