CSAD staff Dr Clara Watkins (BA/BSc Product Design course leader) and Professor Steve Gill have designed and made a lightweight trauma pack for use in rural Africa.
The kit which includes a neck brace, splints and bandages, can be used to stabilise road traffic accident victims before they can receive proper medical attention. Each item is designed to prevent non-qualified first responders doing more harm than good. The neck brace, for example, has no access hole for a tracheotomy to be performed.
The pack and each item it contains is made from locally available materials using processes that are viable locally. The neck braces, for example, are formed from hand-waxed and sealed cardboard, while drainpipes are used as the basis for splints, and bicycle inner tubes for pressure bandages.
