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Teesside University student wins national design competition

04 July 2022

 

A student from Teesside University’s School of Arts & Creative Industries has claimed top prize in the 2022 Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) competition, with a reusable bedpan.

Left to right: Mark Freary (Teesside University), Zara King and Martin Sixsmith (DIP)
Left to right: Mark Freary (Teesside University), Zara King and Martin Sixsmith (DIP)

Zara King, a product design student at Teesside University, who lives in Middlesbrough, designed EasyMode, a reusable bedpan for a pulp liner to fit inside, providing a safe and comfortable base for people to use in any healthcare setting.

The bedpan is moulded with a wide base so that it sits comfortably into the bed, presses down into the mattress and does not tip when the patient is rolled off.

Zara designed the product after hearing first-hand from a nurse about the awkwardness of using existing bedpans, and the distress it often causes.

DIP, supported by The Worshipful Company of Horners, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and headline sponsored by Covestro, is the longest running plastics design competition of its kind for university undergraduates in the UK and Ireland.

Students were asked to design a product, made primarily of plastics, for the healthcare sector, which can be used in demanding applications, but which also exploits the longevity of plastics.

Following the award ceremony, held at Painters’ Hall in London, on Friday 1 July, chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said Zara was a worthy winner who had tackled a sensitive issue and come up with a product which was already fit to go to market.

“She impressed the judges with her methodical approach to solving a major problem in the NHS,” he said.

“Her holistic approach incorporated both user and patient issues to come up with a solution which met both needs.

Since entering this competition, I have enjoyed every moment, especially the thought of helping people with a product I’ve designed.

Zara King

“She gave due consideration to sustainability, manufacturing and the materials used and has registered this product as her intellectual property, so that it is market-ready, should she want to take it forward.”

Zara said: “Since entering this competition, I have enjoyed every moment, especially the thought of helping people with a product I’ve designed.

“Healthcare is definitely a field I’d like to stay involved in. This is one of the proudest moments of my life.”

As the competition winner, Zara received a £1,000 cash prize, a placement with a DIP sponsor or an industrial course and an invitation to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet as a guest of the Worshipful Company of Horners.

Zara was also awarded a year’s membership to the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (IOM3).

The judges awarded second place to Kenneth Thornton of Edinburgh Napier University, with his product Catheter Bag Carry, a reusable portable catheter bag holder which conceals and protects the catheter bag. In third place came Charlie Gould-Hocking, from Bangor University, with Crutch, a shower stand for amputees with a lower limb loss that allows them to stand whilst showering.

DIP is supported by work placement sponsors, Brightworks, Innovate Product Design, PDD and RJG Technologies.


In the News

Reusable bedpan wins student Zara a top plastics title
Northern Echo, p.25, Print, 13/07/2022
A student from Middlesbrough has claimed top prize in a national design competition, with a reusable bedpan.


Winner prestigious DIP 2022 competition announced
Sustainable Plastics, Web, 05/07/2022
University student creates new bedpan solution for patients in healthcare settings.


DIP 2022 winner announced: Student uses reaction moulding to create bedpan solution for healthcare settings
British Plastics and Rubber, Web, 01/07/2022
A student from Teesside university has claimed top prize in the 2022 Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) competition, after designing a re-usable bedpan. 

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