A project by a Division of Industrial Design graduate as his final year thesis has been named the Singapore national winner of the James Dyson Award 2023.
Auxobrace, a vest-like sternal rehabilitation device for patients who have undergone open-heart surgery, is the brainchild of DID Class of 2023 graduate Siew E Ian.
The development of the device, which uses a mini vacuum pump and 3D-printed flexible materials, was inspired by his own experiences having undergone two rounds of open-heart surgery since early childhood.
Working with surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists at NUH, E Ian designed Auxobrace to be lightweight and comfortable for patients of all ages, allowing them to use the device to deliver targeted pressure and force on the chest area.
The thesis project was supervised by Associate Professor Yen Ching Chiuan and Assistant Professor Clement Zheng from CDE's Division of Industrial Design.
“While recovering from my most recent surgery, I endured a challenging and painful period of approximately three to four months due to the slow fusion of the sternum bone,” E Ian said.
“Simple movements and activities required assistance from caregivers, and the available solutions proved ineffective. This experience sparked my motivation as a designer to reimagine sternal and cardiac rehabilitation, aiming to benefit and provide relief to a larger population.”
During a typical open-heart surgery, the sternum is split so that surgeons can gain direct access to the heart. Recovery can take up to four months, and patients require extensive rehabilitation to help the sternum to heal correctly.
Conventional sternal braces currently in use are bulky, cumbersome, restrict movement and are uncomfortable to wear. Auxobrace uses vacuum forces to contract a network of tessellating air bladders, giving patients precision control to support the sternum bone during their recovery.
E Ian is currently working to develop the device further with support from faculty at NUS and medics at NUH. He is also exploring how the compressive systems used in Auxobrace could be employed in other rehabilitation situations.
Backed by the British inventor and founder of the Dyson appliances firm, the James Dyson Award is an international design award aimed at inspiring the next generation of design engineers. Designers entering the competition are given the simple brief to “design something that solves a problem”.
Winners of the Award’s national competitions in 30 countries around the world go forward for a chance to win the top international prize which is announced in November.
