In Turkey, roughly 3000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every year (Kebudi, 2012). Although there are different types of pediatric cancers, their trajectory is similar and filled with various physical and psychosocial challenges for the patients and their families. Moreover, cancer usually causes a drastic life change for the whole family. To adjust to the changes and cope better with the challenges, it is crucial that children understand cancer, its course, and the treatment (Eiser & Havermans, 1992; Scott, Prictor & Watt, 2003 as cited in Mant et al., 2018). However, in Turkey, parents often avoid sharing cancer-related information with their children, which hinders children’s understanding, adjustment, and coping (Dr. N. Yıldız Silahlı (MD), personal communication, 2022). Therefore, this thesis aims to improve children’s understanding, adjustment, and coping by nudging parents into changing their attitudes and encouraging children to express themselves. To do so, the project utilises the power of play.

The project starts by exploring the context of pediatric cancers, the factors that affect children’s understanding, adjustment, and coping, and the strategies to utilise play in the pediatric cancer context through a literature review. Then, the project analyses families’ current experiences, needs and wishes, and the barriers and opportunities in the context through generative interviews with the families and interviews with healthcare professionals, which reveal the reasons behind parents’ attitudes and another key problem: limited emotional sharing between children and parents. Based on the interview results, the project visualises the users’ experiences, needs, and challenges through personas and a user journey map, which shows the need of focusing on the hospitalisation stage.

In the light of new findings, the project analyses and reframes the initial design problem and envisions the solution space by defining the design goal, vision and requirements. After generating various solutions that fit within the envisioned space through ideation and conceptualisation, the project introduces the final design: AstroMission, a space-themed role-playing game that aims to facilitate the emotional connection between children and parents.

AstroMission consists of several elements with different functions:
1. Storyline: It is a metaphorical representation of cancer, treatments, and psychosocial challenges. Parents can use this storyline to give children cancer-related information.
2. Missions: They are play opportunities that require the collaboration of children and parents. Their content nudges families into talking about cancer and sharing their emotions with each other in a fun way.
3. Emotion puppets: They are a set of toys that represent four basic emotions of joy, anger, sadness, and fear. They help children to express their feelings. Also, some missions require the family to play with them.
4. Hospital room decorations and objects: They reframe the hospital room into a less scary, even fun environment for children. Also, some missions require the family use the objects in the room.
5. Mobile app: It presents the missions and the story of the game to the family. Also, it has a social function of connecting the families going through the same experience.

Due to the project duration, the project iterates on and validates only the first three elements of the game with the users. However, user evaluations show that AstroMission is desirable and holds great potential to facilitate cancer-related conversations and emotional sharing between parents and children throughout the cancer trajectory.

Lastly, the project shows how to put AstroMission into practice by proposing a material and production method and estimating implementation costs. Also, the project presents the recommendations for further development of AstroMission.

To conclude, the outcome of this project creates value for the users by improving children’s understanding, adjustment, and coping, and alleviating parents’ psycho-emotional burden. It also creates value for the hospitals by improving the user experience.

The idea for this project was created by two Urologists at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. The design goal was to develop a diagnostic device that can be used to measure nocturnal (i.e. nightly) erections. The current device used to measure nocturnal erections was developed in the 1980s. There is a need for a modern tool that can be used in the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse (Shamloul et al. 2013). A study from 2017, for the Rutgers Institute, found that in the Netherlands 9% of men suffer from ED (Seksuele gezondheid in Nederland 2017) Broadly there are two categories of ED, (1) psychogenic and (2) organic, each having their own underlying causes. Currently, there are limited diagnostic tools for patients with ED. These diagnostic tools are unable to provide reliable, or accurate data. In addition, these tools are often uncomfortable for the patient or are invasive. The most common diagnostic tool for ED is obtaining a detailed medical history followed by a sexual health questionnaire. The questionnaire asks a series of questions regarding sexual health and is often paired with a doctor's appointment where the patient will verbally communicate with a urologist regarding their symptoms and complaints. This can be an intimate or sensitive subject to discuss and miscommunications between patients and physicians about specific problems are common. Following the conclusion of the project, I plan to present a device that can measure the number, duration and intensity of nocturnal erections. The device should provide urologists and researchers insight into the physiology during a nocturnal erection. My results show that it is possible to obtain STO2 measurements in the penis using a tissue oximeter in both flaccid and erect penises. The final design includes the tissue oximeter prototype, an ergonomic design for the device and a design for the user interaction.

Although clothing fulfils an important function for humanity, the impact on the planet of the current fashion industry raises concerns. High water usage, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and textile waste are all negative impacts on the environment coming from the textile industry (European Parliament, 2021). These negative impacts are especially rising due to the impact of fast fashion, however workwear also plays a role in this. Workwear is often made out of durable fabrics which are discarded before their functional End-of-Life (EoL), therefore having greater negative impacts (ECAP, 2017). This report shows the research done on the sustainability of the Flamebuster2 Nordic Coverall from Trital Safety B.V.. This coverall is an all-round piece of work clothing used in several industries. Research was done into the context of this kind of clothing and in-depth information about fabrics and processes was collected. A fast-track Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to assess the environmental impact of the Flamebuster2 Nordic Coverall. The LCA showed that the biggest environmental impact comes from the cultivation and production of cotton and the dyeing of the fabric. From this LCA, design fundamentals were setup to guide the redesign process. These fundamentals are: design for longevity, design for low maintenance, and design for recyclability. Together with a user survey, these design fundamentals shaped design challenges which had to be overcome for a redesign. These challenges were: fabric alternatives, dyeing of the fabric, towards a mono material, and sustainable treatments. Based on extensive research and testing, design solutions were found for the challenges. Together, these solutions create the redesign of the coverall: the Flambebuster2 Eco Coverall. The Flambebuster2 Eco Coverall is made out of hemp fabric, which is dyed in an eco-friendly way. This significantly lowers the environmental impact, but still makes sure the coverall is durable. All other parts are either biobased or made from recycled materials, and the labels are digitally printed. All together this almost eliminates half of the environmental impact of the coverall and reduces the CO2 footprint from 12 kg to 8 kg. Besides, it opens up new EoL options for the coverall. Next to that, the life cycle of the Flambebuster2 Eco Coverall has become more circular. On the one hand because the coverall is for 96% biobased, which almost closes the CO2 loop. On the other hand, an app was designed to give users more information about the coverall, and about the EoL options and implications. A prototype was created to test the Flambebuster2 Eco Coverall in practice. The prototype was used to assess the comfort of the coverall, and to see the impact of industrial laundry on hemp fabric. It was found that the coverall shrunk about 10% after laundry, because the fabric was not preshrunk at the right temperature. The industrial waterproofing treatment also did not work, therefore impregnation during production is needed. The comfort of the prototype is found to be higher that the comfort of the original Flamebuster2 Nordic Coverall. Since the Flambebuster2 Eco Coverall is not 100% circular yet, some recommendations were written. Future possibilities and other insights were presented to help the development of future coveralls.

It is time to break the taboo on something that every person does every day: excretion. Using the toilet for micturition and defecation is familiar to everyone. However, discussing personal troubles with going to the toilet is frowned upon. Constipation complaints and urine retention are common, especially among the elderly. There are multiple ways of countering these complaints, with this report focusing on taking the right body posture while sitting on the toilet. This posture consists of raising the knees above hip height, aiming for more pelvic floor muscle relaxation.This report explores a new product design that helps people to fight constipation and urine retention complaints, by assisting them to get an ergonomically beneficial toilet posture. First, the current scenario of this problem and its environment was explored thoroughly, in order to create the full relevant picture. Information was gathered from the target group, medical professionals from ErasmusMC Rotterdam (i.a. urologists and pelvic floor therapists), nursing home staff and other IDE experts. Existing solutions are not fulfilling, or even dangerous, especially for elderly users. Therefore, the target group in this project is focused on the elderly. Through solving sub problems, researching technical possibilities and pinpointing wishes and demands, possible design directions were explored. Eventually, the EasyRaise was chosen as the proposed concept that aimed to solve the problems best. The EasyRaise consists of a platform that effortlessly lifts the legs of the user upwards to the user’s personal perfect height. The user operates the platform by him-/herself with a wireless remote and is informed by a medical expert on the desired optimal height of the platform. Hand support can be included to help the user get on and off the platform and provide help with standing up and balancing. The remote can be stored on the hand support extension. The proposed concept of the EasyRaise went through three types of evaluation. A physical prototype was created to test the working of the lift mechanism. Target group participants were asked to assess the functionalities and desirability of the concept. Finally, ErasmusMC staff were invited to share their medical insights on the EasyRaise, and whether they would recommend it. The EasyRaise leads to increased quality of life and decreased health costs, as autonomy is enhanced and medicines like laxatives are diminished. The report is concluded with a set of recommendations and conclusions that elaborate on the steps needed to take this concept to the next development stage.

During the course of this thesis, the design of a knee brace that improves the quality of life for people with arthritis in the knee, is being researched. The knee joint is covered with articular cartilage which protects the bones from being damaged. Arthritis of the knee is a pathology where this cartilage is damaged potentially even to the extent that direct bone-to-bone contact occurs. The most common symptoms for the patient are pain and inflammation, affecting their mobility and quality of life. Firstly, research is conducted on the arthritis knee disorder, the patients and their interests, and the technical aspect of a knee brace in relation with the knee kinematics. The following main insights are revealed by the analyses: -Arthritis in the knee is wear and tear of the articular cartilage caused by loading. This can be the result of extensive sports, overweight, incorrect alignment of the joint or aging. -There are no treatments available that cure the damaged cartilage tissue. It is in the patient’s interest to slow down the deterioration process. When the disorder impacts the quality of life too much, replacement surgery can be opted for. -Replacement surgery is the last resort option due to its invasiveness, possible complications and high rate of dissatisfied patients. It is therefore preferred to delay the need for a surgery if possible. -The deterioration process can be slowed down by exposing the knee joint to less load. Partially unloading the joint can be beneficial during demanding activities or even daily activities, depending on the stage of arthritis. -A customized fit of the knee brace is preferred for increased comfort and effectiveness. Secondly, during the development phase, two main challenges are explored, being the custom fit of the brace and the unloading mechanism. To make a perfectly fitting brace design, many mock-ups are created and evaluated on their comfort and secure fit. The insights are translated into a standard model that can be shaped around the patient’s 3D scan of the leg. This experimental approach is also applied to find an unloading mechanism that can be integrated in the brace. The concepts are tested by attaching them to the brace mock-ups that were created when exploring the perfect fit. Thirdly, a design proposal is created, resulting in the LVATE brace that can be integrated in Orthobroker’s product-service platform. During the patient’s appointment with an orthotist, a 3D scan of the leg is made and uploaded to a digital platform. The platform morphs the LVATE brace around the 3D scan in such a way that it distributes pressure among tolerant zones of the leg. The brace can then be ordered right away. The unloading mechanism is activated by rotating a knob that is positioned on the lateral side of the brace. Finally, the brace is evaluated on its feasibility, desirability and viability. A conclusion is derived from the evaluation feedback and recommendations are prepared for a further development of the design proposal.

This project is about designing a tool to help informal caregivers provide better dementia care experiences for the people-with-dementia. There are many different non-pharmacological interventions that can be applied to help deal with the symptoms of dementia. Both understanding the knowledge of non-pharmacological interventions and knowing the people-with-dementia is necessary for informal caregivers to personalized apply these interventions during the daily care. This project is researching this topic and developing a tool to support informal caregivers. The project follows the double-diamond model. Discover: desk research, context inquiry, in-depth interview and collage were applied and different stakeholders were involved to dig deeper into the research questions. Define: The research results were summarized and the design problem, target users and use scenario were defined. Develop: Multiple concepts were created and evaluated by the Objective Weighted during the develop phase. Deliver: One concept was chosen to further detailed, evaluated, iterated and finally delivered. The outcome is a platform, which is an app, for informal caregivers to search and learn dementia-related knowledge and discuss with each other or with the experts. Users can learn different non-pharmacological interventions and knacks on the platform as well.

This graduation report describes the design process of the antenna band of the myTemp system. The myTemp system is a high accuracy core temperature measuring device, that uses an indigestible measuring pill and an antenna band to measure the temperature inside the intestines. It is mainly used in thermo-physiological or exercise-related research, often to research how the core temperature changes in athletes when exercising in hot, humid environments. By researching this, heat-related illnesses or exertional heat strokes can be avoided that are caused by a too high core temperature.

The main benefit of the myTemp system lies in the fact that the indigestible measuring pill does not contain a battery and can therefore be manufactured at a lower price than competitive products. This also means that there is no risk of battery leakage in the body.

This requires that the system uses an antenna belt. This belt consists of a case containing electronics and a wire that goes around the torso of the user. This wire creates a magnetic field that is able to both charge and well as communicate with the indigestible measuring pill.



In this project the main objective was to improve the comfort of the antenna belt, fit the belt to people with different body sizes, increase the reliability of the antenna-pill connection and increase the user experience.

The project consists of three phases: the research phase and two ideation phases. In the research phase, relevant information is gathered about the context, user experience and the technology used. In the first ideation phase, multiple antenna configurations have been tested and compared to find an alternative antenna. In the second ideation phase, a user test has been conducted to improve the user experience of the device.

At the end of the report, the design is presented and recommendations are given for future development.

Support people, especially support the bereaved people, is a challenging task. People’s attitudes towards death vary because many factors can influence it, such as gender, age, educational background, cultural and religious factors. The personality of the attitudes towards death stops people from supporting the bereaved actively because they are aware that their unprofessional actions may cause secondary injury and offend. Similarly, it makes it difficult for the bereaved to express their needs because of the sensitivity of the death.

In most situations, due to the concerns listed above, supporting the bereaved to cope healthily is considered as a task that should be better conducted by formal support, such as support provided by psychologists and social workers. However, it is proved that informal social support is also necessary for healthy grieving.

This project explores the opportunity of promoting informal social support in the working context. In detail, it focuses on supporting the bereaved to have a healthy grieving by facilitating the support provided by their colleagues. Based on the “Network of care” theory, this project defines all stakeholders in three groups: The bereaved, the colleagues, and the facilitator. This project explores the barriers that stop the colleagues from supporting the bereaved and studies the possibility for the facilitator to facilitate a support strategy. Choosing IDE faculty as the project context, this project ends up with a feasible service supported ritual that can reduce the unaware concerns related to death, raise the awareness of supporting each other, and build the connection between the bereaved and their colleagues, concern-free and caring.

In the Netherlands an estimated amount of 1.75 million people are suffering from asthma, from which an estimated amount of 300,000 are children. Even though the treatment of asthma has come a long way, nonadherence in asthma patients regarding their treatment remains high. This nonadherence is in part linked to the visual appearance of asthma inhaler devices and the ease of incorrectly interacting with these devices. The combination of using a metered dose inhaler (MDI) with a (valved) spacer chamber significantly decreases the likelihood of device interaction issues, but it worsens the visual appearance of the device, making it the least popular asthma inhaler device and also the least likely to be used in public. A concept has been developed in order to make the combination of an MDI + spacer chamber more appealing to use amongst younger asthma patients (children), especially in public. This concept consists of a housing which can hold and disguise an MDI + spacer chamber whilst providing an outwardly appearance of a sports water bottle. Interaction with this concept also provides an outwardly appearance as a person who is drinking from a sports water bottle, as opposed to that of a patient who is inhaling from a medical device. This concept aims to provide the advantages of an MDI + spacer chamber whilst simultaneously decreasing factors of embarrassment and/or reluctance to use such a device in public. Finally a usability study and a user experience (UX) have been conducted in order to evaluate whether the developed concept performs as intended.

At the moment design is taught in primary education. Teachers often use the design cycle which consists of six phases: 1) Exploring & formulating the problem, 2) Generating & selecting ideas, 3) Generating & selecting concepts, 4) Building prototypes, 5) Testing & optimising and 6) Presenting. There are several tools available for teachers to use when doing a design assignment in class. These tools are focused on exploring, ideating and presenting, but tools for prototyping are missing. In a previous project Nadine Rodewijk developed a game, the Prototype-discussion-game, which was meant to help children in purposefully prototyping. This game is the starting point of this project and the goal of this project is to develop materials that are a contribution to the available tools for designing in primary education and make children use prototyping in a meaningful way.Explorative research, interviews, observations and literature, show that children often do not have a goal when prototyping, while experts use prototyping to find things out. Designing is an iterative process and prototyping allows you to iterate. At the moment children often only make one prototype at the end of their process for communication purposes.In this project three tools are (further) developed in order to stimulate the children to purposefully prototype and use prototyping to iterate in their design process. Due to COVID-19 all the tests in this project could not be performed in schools, since all schools were closed. Therefore, all the tools are tested at home. One of the developed tools is the Skill tool. The goal of this tool is to teach children necessary skills for prototyping. When children do not know how to make things, they will not be able to make meaningful prototypes in a design assignment. Children get a step-by-step instruction in text and image which they have to follow. In the last step the children need to apply the skill they just learned in a different context. This way children already have practised applying the skill in a different context before they have to create a specific prototype in a design assignment. Another tool is the Prototype-discussion-game of Nadine which is further developed. The goal of the game is to make children aware of the different goals prototypes can have. The Prototype-discussion-game is a card game in which groups of 3-4 children have to combine prototypes with goals. The children have five cards with different goals for prototypes on them and they need to combine one of the cards to a card with a prototype on it. The children need to give an argument for their choice and need to discuss which goal fits best with the prototype card. The tests in this project show that the game makes children aware of the different goals and is experienced as a nice and educational game to play. The last tool developed for children is the Iteration tool. The goal of this tool is to guide children through the necessary stages in order to iterate (see Figure 1). In order to iterate you first need to look forward and plan for the prototype you are about to make. Then you execute your plan and once it is finished, you look back and reflect on your progress and process. Lastly, you process your learnings and decide on what the next step would be before you enter the iteration model again by planning for your new prototype. The tool consists of multiple worksheets which are related to the stages of the iteration model. The tests show that using the Iteration tool helps the children to prototype purposefully. In this project there is also a tool developed for teachers. This Info booklet provides information about the role of prototyping in a design process. The booklet also provides examples and information about the tools developed in this project that can be used in class when prototyping. Teachers mentioned that this booklet is very informative and can be useful when preparing a design assignment.

This IPD (Integrated Product Design) master thesis describes the development of the LooWee. The LooWee was developed in collaboration an electric wheelchair user in search for a new toileting solution for female wheelchair users. The goal of this thesis was the further research the idea and design a new toileting solution that could replace the available tools. Currently, adult diapers or a catheter are the only options, but these are medically unnecessary. The two main issues with these tools are discomfort and capacity. They are either painful or won’t last the whole day. Limiting the user’s mobility and having a negative effect on their quality of life. Based on previous prototypes and the client experience, this thesis focussed on finding the most suitable design direction. Incorporating a tool into the wheelchair seat would fit most in the given context. However, it came with multiple challenges. The client sits on an orthosis and making alterations can influence the performance of the seat. Which was a problem that occurred in the previous prototype. Therefore the chosen concept focused on incorporating a urination tool without making large changes to the orthosis. Figure 1 shows only one small change is made to the bottom layer of the seat. Which is the ergonomic shape of the seat, which determines its performance. The embodiment of the chosen concept focussed on comfort and functionality. The different aspects of the concept were further researched. Prototyping and material testing were used to detail the design. In the end, all the results were gathered into the final design, as it is shown in Figure 1. The LooWee can be added to a Lewis orthosis. This seat has a tilted orientation, which is used by the LooWee to drain the urine to the back of the seat. A silicone product is sunken into the seat, to keep it leveled with the top of the seat. A curved shape sticks out from the seat surface with the opening. This curve will form to the user’s body and capture the urine directly at the source. Urination through the opening will help control the unpredictable female urine stream and prevent spilling. A toplayer will cover the silicone part, for comfort (mask the feeling of sitting on an opening) and to prevent sweat. The drained urine is stored at the back of the wheel, provides enough room to store the urine of a whole day. The embodied design was validated with a comfort and functionality test.

The human body, although seemingly symmetrical, can in fact be highly asymmetrical. Our bodies are predetermined by our DNA and co-shaped by our environment. This leads to most of the world's population having a discrepancy in leg length either from birth or developed during their life time. It is completely natural and goes unnoticed, as changes are incremental and people get used to it. On the contrary, when undergoing total hip replacement surgery and waking up with one leg longer than the other, the change is almost instantaneous and immediately noticeable. Current surgical solutions do not address this issue in a practical manner within the operating theatre, leading to surgical teams developing their own methods and procedures to evaluate the change in patient's leg length.
 
Introducing new workflows to medical professionals often entails neglecting the protocols they spent years practicing. This thesis identified this bottleneck and instead of introducing new methods and procedures, it was decided to build on existing ones. This was done by exploring common surgical workflows in respect to total hip replacement and determining an approach to enhance surgical team's capabilities in evaluating leg length discrepancy.. Important in achieving this goal it to make any given design solution effortless, reliable and undisruptive to various workflows

In order to do so, user research was performed by joining multiple surgical teams within the OR, thereby observing and evaluating their methods. One method in particular stood out, which is best described as the 'loaded assessment'. During this assessment the surgeon or circulating nurse will centre the patient's feet, apply pressure to the heels and try to evaluate the discrepancy. Although this method being seemingly simple, its execution is difficult to perform by a single person and varying pressure differences may confuse the assessment.

Following the initial research phase, co-creation sessions with technical experts were organised, after which various concepts were developed and tested on the basis of feasibility, desirability and viability. Finally, a functional prototype based on the loaded assessment principle was developed and tested for its functionality and conceptual expectation.

The report describes the graduation project done for Lifesafety Products B.V., otherwise known as Lifehammer. The company has a problem with the attachment systems of their emergency hammers. These hammers are used to break car glass in emergencies. The most commonly known use case in the Netherlands is when one ends up trapped in a car submerged in water. Due to the limitations of car interiors regarding suitable locations, a new spring-loaded hammer was developed, which is much smaller than the existing hammers of Lifehammer. The product is to be installed on seat belt receivers, which are universally present in cars. A working, 3D printed prototype was made which was capable of breaking tempered glass, which car (side) windows are made of. Some ergonomic problems were encountered during user tests, as the novel product was not easily recognised.

This report shows the process of creating a design proposal for a modular kitchen cabinet for the company Quooker. Quooker B.V. is a Dutch company famous for its water taps that instantly cook water, with its head office based in Ridderkerk. The rapidly expanding product portfolio of Quooker causes a complex installation and difficult integration of the products into kitchens. Therefore the assignment was set to design a modular kitchen cabinet that would ease the installation process and would help the consumer to use the available space inside the sink cupboard more efficiently.

This master thesis discusses the development of an arm protector for Historical European martial arts, H.E.M.A. in short. H.E.M.A. is a rapidly growing sport with currently over 40000 practitioners. The sport focuses on reconstructing and practicing the lost art of European sword fighting. The main problem of this sport however is that swords are designed to hurt people and good protection equipment is not available. The three main problems with the current protection are: (1) a lack in the freedom of movement, (2) protection and (3) fit provided by the product.

This thesis discusses these three topics in the analysis to determine the requirements to create an optimally functioning arm protector for the H.E.M.A. practitioner. During the concept development the arm protector is divided in different sections that are linked to specific requirements originating from the three research areas. Within these sections principle solutions are created, tested and selected to be combined in a preliminary design. The preliminary design is validated with experienced H.E.M.A. practitioners and further developed into the final design. The final design is a tailor made arm protector that exists out of stiff specifically shaped shells that can rotate relative to each other in order to create the necessary freedom of movement, protection and fit. This thesis is ended with recommendations discussing the further developments that are necessary to achieve a optimally functioning arm protector.

The founders of start-up Scoozy saw an opportunity in the market for electric mobility. The mobility scooter has been driving electric for over 40 years, but has barely innovated. The start-up came up with an alternative for the current mobility scooter: Scoozy. A first working prototype was build in 2017 and tested with potential users. This led to many useful insights for the required improvements before Scoozy could go to the market.

One point of attention was the ergonomics of the seat. The seat is not adaptable to the diversity in the human body and thus not suitable for all users. This raised the question: How does this influence the comfort experience of the users and how can this be improved? These problems and questions were the base for this thesis assignment:

Design the seat of a mobility scooter by analysing current desires of the user and Scoozy and testing with models in order to improve the usability and ergonomic functionality of the seat.

Hyperthermia is a clinical cancer treatment method that relies on the principle of selectively heating tumour tissue with temperatures between 40 - 44 °C. For most head- and neck tumours deep hyperthermia treatment (DHT) is applied, in which electromagnetic energy is emitted to tumour tissue located ≥ 4cm below the skin surface. At the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, electromagnetic energy is applied from a circular shaped applicator that is placed around the patient’s head or neck. A water bolus is placed between the applicator and the patient’s skin to act as a cooling agent to prevent skin burns and as a transferring agent to conduct the electromagnetic energy to the internal tumour tissue.

The goal of this master thesis was to redesign the water bolus that is currently applied in DHT at the Erasmus MC to increase patient- and operator comfort. For this purpose two main design challenges were addressed:

i) Design of an ergonomic fit for the water bolus
ii) Development of a method for uniform skin cooling and pressure control

For an optimal ergonomic fit of the water bolus, a 4D anthropometric model of head and neck was developed based on the 3D images of head and neck cancer patients that are treated at the Erasmus MC. Additionally, to secure appropriate cooling and pressure a honeycomb grid was developed. The pattern of the cavities in the grid guides circulating water through the entire volume to uniformly cool the skin. Furthermore, the grid itself provides shape stability to the water bolus, whereas the sides of the grid that are in contact with the patient’s skin provide flexibility. In addition, the water bolus was designed in a manner to enable an easy attachment to the deep DHT equipment by a sliding mechanism.

Working on the rail infrastructure is physically tough. Heavy tools are lifted and carried while in unfavourable postures and in a harsh environment. An integrated design of tool carrier and working process eliminates the toughest of the loads imposed on the body of railway workers.

This report describes the development process of the pintracker, a product able to prevent and detect pin tract infections for external fixators.
The pintracker is designed in the context of the knee reviver, a medical device able to distract the knee joint. Knee joint distraction is a treatment method of osteoarthritis in the knee joint aiming at retention of the joint.
Knee joint distraction is an alternative treatment to total knee arthroplasty for young patients. Currently, total knee arthroplasty is the golden standard in treatment of osteoarthritis. For young osteoarthritis patients, implantation of knee prosthesis at young age, would implicate revision knee surgery at older age. Knee revision surgery is involved with complications, infections and low success rates. Knee joint distraction aims at retention of the knee joint to prevent knee revision surgery at older age.
The high infection rates involved with the use of external fixator pins is a significant limiting factor in knee joint distraction being adopting as viable treatment method for treating young arthritis patients.
Prior research within the UMC Groningen (Van der Borden et. al, 2004, 2005, 2007) showed that subjecting the bone pins of external fixators to an electric current reduces the development of pin tract infections at the pin sites significantly.
UMC Utrecht is continuing this research by applying the methods of infection prevention to the knee reviver. Pending animal studies should show the effect of applying a current to the bone pins of external fixators. The next step in this research is applying the methods in a product which can be used for infection prevention in human studies.
The result of this design process involves the design of a product which can be used for human trials. The device is able to store data on the resistance of the bone pins. Possibly, a correlation between infection development and resistance between the bone pins is found.
When present, the correlation can serve as means to detect infection development in an early stage. A product design is made of a product which can be produced in series. Detection of infection development is taken into account of a series product.
The product casing has been prototyped through iterative steps to increase the feasibility of the design.
In long term, the method can be applied to all external fixator pins. A conceptual design is proposed of a method to make the treatment method applicable to all external fixator pins. The added value of embedding an app with the pintracker has been described and the app is visualized.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer for Dutch males. 1 out 9 males is diagnosed with prostate cancer during his life. 48% Of the diagnosis is for men older than 70 (IKNL, 2014). Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital and Nederlands Kanker Instituut do research in cancer diagnostics. This graduation project focuses on the development of a device that should enable prostate cancer patients to collect their own blood sample within their home. The sample will be analyzed at the hospital for “prostate specific antigen” (PSA). The results of such measurements determine the patients treatment. The system should omit patient visits to the hospital for such PSA checks.