Four electrical engineering students have designed a one-of-a-kind smart bed for disabled people.
The students at Ajman University of Science and Technology saw the problems paralysed people face and came up with the smart bed idea and decided to use it as their senior project.
They combined four essentials that paralysed patients need into one bed: a manual and auto controller used to flip the patient to the left and right; sensors to measure vital signs; a part that detaches to allow a nurse to clean a person without moving them; and a camera that allows a nurse or family members to monitor the patient through a mobile app.
"We wanted to create an invention that was not yet made and can specifically help those with special needs. We came up with plenty of ideas and then I remembered that my mother’s friend is paralytic and needs someone to flip her every few hours to her right and left side," said Ahmed Hamdan, 23, from Palestine.
"Also, I know that old people who are unable to walk and move need a person to flip them all day and night in order to avoid skin irritation and the most person in any family who does that is the patient’s daughter."
Mohammed Nofal, 21, from Jordan, also thought that a smart bed was a good idea after seeing his grandfather struggle with mobility.
The students – including Abdulrahman Azam, 21, from Palestine, and Mohammed Atfa, 21, from Syria – conducted a lot of research before beginning to build the bed, asking doctors about what to avoid, what size the bed should be, and how often paralysed patients need to be moved.
They also got a company to build the bed before adding the smart tech. It measures two metres by one metre and cost Dh21,000 to make.
"After we came up with the idea, we started doing the design from zero on 3ds Max, 3D modelling software. We used metal instead of aluminium because the cost of metal is cheaper and we are now working on programming the software," said Mr Nofal.
The software built into the bed will be operated with an app that, in addition to operating the camera, allows the patient’s care giver to press a button to turn the patient over or they can even set up set times for the bed to do it itself.
The bed also has a sensor that raises the alarm if the patient gets into difficulty.
"This is our senior project and we chose to do something that is a beneficial and unique invention for the community," said Mr Hamdan.
The smart bed is currently displayed at the Innovation Centre at Ajman university.
"We are definitely looking to market it and make it available for all paralysed patients because we created it for them," Mr Hamdan added.

Source: The National