Novel Hassle-Free, Cheaper, Life-Simplifying Gadgets for Patients

Perturbed by issues patients face in day-to-day existence, some innovative medical personnel have come up with simpler, cost-effective or new-fangled means of doing things – contraptions which would be immensely beneficial to patients.

WALKING GLASSES

Issue
Those individuals having brain disorder like Parkinson’s could experience difficulty to keep walking (although this issue resolves to a significant extent when they follow grid patterns like lines on a footpath). This impinges on their self-confidence and capability of getting around independently.

Resolution
Walking glasses resembling alike normal-appearing however battery-powered eye glasses but projecting a grid.

Hallelujah Moment
Based on the observation that Parkinson’s disease sufferers who found it difficult to walk were ably steered by the patterns of tiles or cue lines. Employing this concept into their trials, researchers found that 2/3rds of patients showed improvement, with a number of them advancing from a shuffle to a stride out. Additional studies are in-progress and when obtainable these glasses would be costing lesser than a hundred pounds – that is almost zilch in comparison to the expenditures entailed when such a person would need to be placed in a nursing home due to their lost freedom as they are incapable of walking about and carrying out independent existence.

NORFOLK SAUSAGE

Issue
Elderly patients having skin dryness could face problems when attempting to slather on moisturising lotions on to their backs, particularly when they are having movement issues.

Resolution
Norfolk sausage is a metre in length of tubular bandage into which a fistful of moisturising cream could be placed in it in the central area after which that part of the cream-filled globule is knotted on either side and then rolled over the back for an even spread of the cream coming out via small pores in the bandage.

Hallelujah Moment
The Tubigrip bandage costing a mere four pounds available in chemist outlets. Consulting skin specialist Nick Levell began researching with a tubular bandage after receiving several pleas from elderly patients who faced problems with cream applications to their backs due to their arthritic hands.

NEEDLE-LESS SHOT

Issue
Nearly 10% of people are needle-phobic and several others find jabs quite excruciating.

Resolution
Gluey patches alike plasters which contain small microneedles – 1/5th of an mm lengthwise and finer than a human hair filament. It delivers a shot underneath the topmost skin layer with no pain or blood loss involved.

Hallelujah Moment
Researchers formulated a way to use remnant skin from operation, sustaining it with nosh for keeping it alive and employed it for testing and developing microneedles. These could even be delivered to patient’s residences and additionally be utilized for drug delivery in case of diabetic patients.

PHYSIO-MASTER

Issue
Bedridden patients incapable of exercising face perils of DVT or deep vein thrombosis wherein blood stagnation in legs occur leading to formation of life-menacing blood clots.

Resolution
Physio-master, a self-inflatable pillow is to be kept underneath the feet replicating the act of walking when a motionless patient is seated. Varying levels of air in the pillow elicits nerve stimulation in foot arches that bolsters blood circulation.

Hallelujah Moment
Invention from brainchild physiotherapist Jill Parker and brother Stephen came up with this contrivance that is great for air flyers and office employees due its easy foldable and deflating nature and costs a mere sixty pounds.

COMMUNITY LEG BATH

Issue
Over one lakh diabetics suffer from leg ulcers, several old or sickly and incapable of getting inside a bath.

Resolution
A portable leg bath comprising of pliable material shaped like a big shopping plastic bag and sitting on a metallic mount. The feet when placed inside the fabric bag could then be lifted up on to the metallic outline and filled using water. A throwaway liner is cast off following usage, while a tap is used for draining off water.

Hallelujah Moment
Ideal for use in nursing homes, clinics or patient’s residences and costs almost two hundred pounds.

SHAKERSCOPE LARYNGOSCOPE

Issue
Medical kit for examination of patients mostly requires battery/bulb that might stop functioning with no prior caveat, thus posing potential danger to their lives.

Resolution
ShakerScope is a kind of medical equipment which provides clear light on shaking it.

Hallelujah Moment
Following discussions on how beneficial wind-up lighting sources would be in case of conked off bulbs in important medical devices, duo anaesthetists David Williams and John Dingley after putting in lots of effort came up with Shaker-Scope. This sixty-pounds costing device contains a movable magnet within a coil that produces power on shaking it. When shaken it generates power enough to last for 10 minutes of vivid light. Rather than a bulb which could stop working, it employs a LED or light-emitting diode and could endure in damp or dusty situations or sitting on shelves till required.

PEEZY

Issue
Women often face problems when attempting to fill the tapered bottle regularly given for collection of urine samples. A correct sample would ideally be middle of urine stream – the initial flow would give inaccurate outcomes as it is filled with bacteria that are being eliminated from the system.

Resolution
The Peezy – a throwaway plastic funnel that has an affixed specimen bottle at its base. The initial urine flow passes via the funnel and flowing out, however as the flow persists a sponge eventually swells up blocking the hole facilitating mid urine flow to be directly collected inside the sample bottle that could be closed with a cover and the funnel binned.

Hallelujah Moment
The almost two pound costing Peezy is a hassle-free yet venerable tool that could help in saving millions of pounds that are spent annually shelled out in redoing sullied urine tests.

FUNCTIONAL HAND SPLINT

Issue
Stroke victims and those RA or rheumatoid arthritis or Multiple Sclerosis patients would require splinting of their hands for facilitating opening them.

Resolution
The functional hand splint appearing alike a stout handle having holes in both ends wherein a toothbrush, pen, comb, spoon or fork could be slotted through are ideal assistance in doing everyday task.

Hallelujah Moment
The twelve pound functional hand splint could re-instate independence back in patients wherein self-feeding, writing, painting, cleaning teeth, brushing hair is attainable.

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