General ingenuity

Wheel chair stump support

A woman had an above the knee amputation and need a detachable stump support

An 81 y-o woman had a Total Hip Replacement (THR). Since she already had home improvements in place (hand rails on stairs and doors, saddle boards removed, radio button alarm, 24/7 carer) she was released from hospital after four days – the only thing she needed and was given was a Rollator (wheeled walking frame, Zimmer frame). She found that the duvet on her bed restricted her movement, and a duvet support was requested for the period of her recovery. A length of 1/8 inch fencing wire was bent to shape and a brass ferrule with two grub screws was made in order to secure the ends of the wire.

Upper Limb Rehabilitation Aids

Aids to rehabilitation of upper limb function for intensive care patients.
Therapy, Activities, Skills and Kinesiology (TASK) Boards for University Hospital Southampton

Alternate Footrest for a Recliner

The patient could not use her recliner chair as the footrest came up and aggravated her skin.
I swapped the chair leg rest for a smaller pad made from plywood and foam to support her feet.

Drag brakes for rollator

The client had difficulty controlling her rollator on sloping ground where it tended to run away with her because she did not have the strength to apply the brakes for extended periods. A light weight rollator with drag brakes was bought and modified to allow the drag brakes to be operated without having to bend down.

Walker stability

A 9 year old boy with cerebral palsy uses a Lecky walker for mobility. As he has grown, the walker is no longer sufficiently stable when he is moving around outside. The project was to angle the large wheels of the walker like a sports wheelchair to increase the track width and improve stability.

Aids to use for upper limb function for cancer patients.

Cancer patients with metastatic spinal cord compression and who are largely bed bound, require simple exercises to maintain upper body actions. Two boards were constructed that could be mounted on over bed or conventional tables, and each contained a separate range of activities. Care was taken to ensure the activities and boards were safe and could be easily cleaned. Several features are the same as Project SO29/19.

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Removable padding for bed-leaver

Mr G lives in 24 hour supported living. He needed padding on his bed-leaver for safety in case he had a fit and thrashed about at night; the padding needed to be easily removable by his carers for when he needed to use the lever for getting in and out of bed.

Nutria Feed Opener

Elderly lady who lives alone, has to have line feed overnight, but can’t open the packs herself.

Modified Marcy Walker

Phoebe uses a mechanical ventilator. She always had an adult with her to carry it around for her. With her start at school coming up, there was hope that she would be able to push it on a walker (modified to take it), giving her some independence.

Child’s Counterbalanced Arm Supports

How to enable a child with Nemaline Myopathy to use his arms so that he can use a tablet, play with toys etc.

Modified Electric Toothbrush

The client has arthritis and could not press the button to switch on electric toothbrush, nor grip a manual toothbrush.

Dementia activity board

The client is a retired engineer now living in a care home. He is suffering from Alzheimer’s and keeps trying to dismantle things in the home. The care staff wanted an activity board to keep him occupied. Some are commercially available but none of them seem to match his needs.