We cannot take our health and well-being for granted, and a mindset of preparedness and precaution is extremely integral to handling medical emergencies. The medical industry has been making leaps and jumps in its innovations, to provide us with top-notch medical care. Designers have been coming up with new and improved, life-saving medical designs that not only boost medical care but relieve some of the pressure from our tireless medical force. From an award-winning inflatable stretcher design to a stretchy Japanese rubber gear that helps people relearn to walk after an incident – these medical innovations are a boon to modern healthcare and a reminder that we cannot take our health for granted any longer!
1. The Inflatable Stretcher
Designed by Yu-Hsin Wu, a student at Taiwan’s Shih Chien University, the Inflatable Stretcher is intended to be a new and upgraded version of the ordinary stretcher. It aims to transport patients in a safe and securer manner from the site of the accident to the hospital. Much like wrapping someone in bubble wrap, the Inflatable Stretcher cushions the patients. It also comes along with its own first-aid kit to help treat injuries that require immediate attention.
2. The Futto
Designed by Yoshihiro Yamada, the Futto is a rather odd-looking yet ingenious wearable rubber gear that helps your muscles relearn to walk after an injury, or for the elderly. The Futto “replaces” the muscle that you utilize for walking, and strengthens the various weak points that need support, as guided by a physiotherapist. It is not intended to be a replacement for rehab exercises, but it can help to strengthen walking muscles.
3. The Resilience Wheelchair
The Resilience wheelchair is no ordinary wheelchair. It transforms the idea of a typically rugged motorized wheelchair into an elegant chaise lounge – one that doesn’t even look like a wheelchair anymore! It comes in color options of resilient gray and classy chrome, giving the design an elegant flair. And it is built using plastic and leather which offer soft comfort and pleasant tactile experiences.
4. Sito
YUPD designed a gadget for deaf individuals to always stay aware of all the latest happenings in their surroundings. Called Sito, this compact and pocketable device is meant to be a lifesaver in adverse situations by beaming vital visual clues on the LDC display and converting ambient noise into a frequency display via visual graphs on the screen.
5. AC1 Boot
Designed by Brooklyn-based mischief makers MSCHF, the Ac1 Boot is designed to explore the lighter and fun side of hopping around in walking boots that are intended for rehabilitation from a foot injury. The designer got the idea for the sneakers when he saw a person walking in medical boots down Prince Street in New York.
6. Overtone Hearing Aids
The typical hearing aids have gotten a makeover with the Overtone hearing aids! They look more modern than medical, and they’re designed to be as stylish as high-fashion TWS earbuds. The hearing aids sit comfortably around your ear, featuring a minimal design with a small ear clip and a metallic disc that looks like a Neuralink implant.
7. BHeart
Say hello to BHeart – the world’s first health tracker with an ‘endless’ battery?! What makes BHeart’s battery endless is the fact that it uses YOUR body movements to charge itself, in turn reducing your electric bill and carbon emissions by manifolds. BHeart utilizes its patent-pending energy-harvesting technology to recharge itself with the help of motion, environmental light, and body heat.
8. The OHEALTH H1
Designed the OPPO, the OHEALTH H1 is a clean and smooth-looking device that looks harmless, unlike the scary medical devices we usually come across. It is designed to resemble a pebble, one of OPPO’s favorite natural objects, or a bar of soap. Despite its minimalist and unassuming looks, the OHealth H1 is packed with health features equivalent to six diagnostic tools.
9. Kubota’s Eyeglasses
Japanese pharmaceutical startup Kubota designed special eyeglasses that can improve or even cure Myopia. Kubota’s wearable design has been amped with an array of nano projectors, which project light at the wearer’s retina in a specific pattern, to cause blurring at short distances, in turn forcing them to look further away. This helps the eyeball to morph back into its original shape and allows one’s vision to return to normal.
10. Airy
This lightweight, fashionable, and sustainable brace is called Airy, and it is designed to correct the lateral curvature of the spine. The designer created this for adolescent girls who are most affected by scoliosis. She intended to create a revamped and improved version of the current back braces in the market, and the resulting Airy not only resolves a lot of the issues with preexisting ones but is also quite comfortable.
