Living at home longer with the Saxion hoist

“It has been quite a puzzle to be able to combine functionality and design”, says designer and researcher Joran van Leussen from the Lectureship Industrial Design. The hoist is meant for people that are not able to get in or out of bed independently. The aid contributes to their ability to stay at home longer. The issue with existing hoists is that they have been designed for hospitals and care & nursing homes and not for people’s homes. “They are meant for an environment with smooth floors and broad doors”, says project leader and researcher Erik Goselink. “When you want to use such hoists at home it requires home adaption. For example, the application of a ceiling-rail for the connection of the hoist. Thanks to our hoist, people are able to stay at home longer without the need of reconstruction of their home.”

The biggest challenge lay in merging characteristics that are difficult to combine, says project leaser Erik Goselink. “On the one hand, the hoist had to be strong and be able to lift a person weighing at max 120 kilos. On the other hand, the system had to have the ability to be brought down to a foldable package to fit beneath home care-beds. Those two opposing demands required quite some effort.” The hoist’s prototype, by the name ‘Wup’, was just recently tested by visitors of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.

The hoist is the result of projects that has run for over two years, led by the Saxion-lectureships Industrial Design and Mechatronics. Students from five different course were involved in the process: Nursing, Health & Technology, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Product Design.

In the first phase, they looked at the current aiding systems in the care sector and the possible improvements. It turned out that usual hoists are to inert and are hard to manoeuvre in a regular home situation (with, for example, carpet on the floor). The results led to the first models of a new type of hoist. Subsequently, a prototype was build that is foldable and can be stored beneath the bed as a compact package. Then, the design of the hoist was further improved in collaboration with JoyinCare and producer NieuweWeme.

In the course of 2018, the hoist will become part of JoyInCare’s assortment, supplier of care products. Managing Director Pim Krijnsen from JoyinCare has high expectations. “It is an ideal system, that does not yet exist. It is in line with the national policy to have people living at home for as long as possible. A lot of dealers are already enthusiastic about the prototype of the ‘Wup’. For them, it is important that it has a compact design. It allows them to transport multiple hoists at the same time.”

The innovative hoist was financially made possible by the Centre of Expertise TechforFuture.