IIT Bombay's IDC School of Design has developed a portable patient chair that dentists can use during their rural camps across the country. The project aims to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas regarding accessing dental care.
The lightweight chair was designed by a student team working under the guidance of Professor BK Chakravarthy. Its foldable quality makes it extremely useful as it can travel easily with the dentist and has a trolley to drag it along a flat terrain during their camps.
Treating Rural Dental Patients With Ease
The team involved in the project spoke to several dentists to understand their concerns and problems while conducting such camps. As reported by The Indian Express, over 70% of the country resides in rural areas, and there is only one dentist for over 2 lakh residents. For a dentist, his paraphernalia is necessary, and it isn't easy to carry around.
In light of this, the portable chair will address specific problems that several dentists have around the country. "We have taken a student project from design to pilot production for the benefit of dental patients in rural areas," Professor Chakravarthy told the news publication. The prototype will be given to the dentists to use and understand.
From transportation to hygienic requirements, the chair aims to mitigate all the problems faced by dentists in the camps. It will help them reach many people and go to remote areas, where they could not earlier. "The chair supports sitting dentistry; the dentist will be able to sit and work comfortably about the chair," said the IDC website about the prototype.
Despite increasing policies, several parts of the country do not have access to basic healthcare facilities. With such endeavours, it makes it easier not just for the medical professional, but for the patients in rural areas too as the camps as the portable chair will offer comfort, ease and fulfil other needs.