Care technology
injury. It couldn’t be a complicated piece of kit and it needed to be reasonably priced,” said Coates.
“As soon as we began drawing up plans for a chair scale with a lifting seat, we knew we were onto a unique concept,” he added.
Experts provide input
A prototype was created using Marsden’s manufacturing facilities in Rotherham in South Yorkshire. “It was made mostly of wood! But it demonstrated the concept well,” said Coates.
That prototype spent six months on the road during 2017 with Paul McCaig, visiting a dozen care home supply companies - Marsden’s distributors - as well as several NHS medical engineering departments, care homes, and Clair Gibson, a back care advisor at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in West Yorkshire.
“Paul first brought the concept to me in autumn 2017,” said Gibson. “It was a rough prototype with potential.” People with mobility impairment often find sitting to standing difficult and many require physical assistance. Musculoskeletal injury can occur when carers are carrying out moving and handling activities, such as transferring a person from one seat to a weighing scale or bed to chair while providing support to the people in their care.
“Risk of injury can be reduced using good handling practice along with the use of appropriate equipment,” said Gibson. Gibson helped by providing input on the usability of the M-250, from seat height to the effectiveness of hinged armrests and footrests. The former, she
Prototype lifting mechanism being tested with various loads
said, can help the resident with stability, whereas being able to fold the footrests fully back reduces the risk of catching ankles and, subsequently, injuries like skin tears.
Reducing the fear residents may have in the weighing process was also important for Gibson. “People often hold a tense posture and are fearful to continue lowering as the seat seems far away, especially for the taller person. “Try lowering yourself into an unfamiliar chair. Where is the seat? Keep lowering yourself. The seat is lower than you expected. How did you feel? “A lifting seat will play a huge part in reducing that fear, as the patient can rest against the seat base and then be lowered into the chair.”
Slow trajectory
“One thing that became very clear during the consultations in 2017 was that getting the speed of the upward/downward movement of the seat right was crucial,” said Mark Coates. “This made a huge difference to the comfort of using the scale for the individual being weighed, and how easy it was for carers to assist the individual.”
“The speed at which the person is lowered or raised can greatly affect their confidence in the process,” added Gisbon. “Pace of movement can affect a person’s orientation.”
A balance needed to be struck between a lifting seat that was fast enough to make the weighing process slicker, but was slow enough to make the experience relaxed and stress-free. A second prototype was hand-built, this time using components that could - and eventually did - make it onto the final design. This second prototype was subject to hundreds of tests at Marsden’s factory.
“We tested different speeds,” said Coates. “Different speeds with different weights. Different speeds with a person being assisted by another acting as a carer. Different speeds with a person being assisted by two ‘carers’.
“We then tested the effort required by carers to get the person out of the seat depending on where the seat’s maximum raised height was, and how this compared to comfort and safety for the person being weighed.”
The seat on this prototype was 3D printed by PD-M January 2021 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
Effort required to help the person out of the scale was assessed by using a crane scale, which measures weight based on pressure. The person was lifted
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