Improving toilet posture

Abstract

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.