IIT Kanpur Student Bags James Dyson Award for Retrofit Patient Transfer System

Asish Mohandas, a student from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur has been declared as the recipient and National Winner of the James Dyson Award from India. He designed a unique product called MAATTAM (retrofit patient transfer system). Asish Mohandas designed the product as a part of his final year degree project. After surveying various hospitals and clinics and speaking to doctors, ward-boys, nurses etc., Mohandas realised that there is no such mechanism or stretchers in the hospitals that can transfer patients without causing them any pain.

While highlighting the significance of his product, Asish Mohandas revealed that he wanted to design an affordable and simple retrofit solution that would solve the problem of patient transfer in hospitals and thus create a better experience for them. The product will also regulate spine disorders while transferring the patients, he added.

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The mechanism of patient transfer system is similar to that of a treadmill that has a moving platform with a wide conveyor fabric belt as well as rollers on either end. Additionally, MAATTAM is a retrofit that can be placed on top of any wheeled stretcher with a flat top surface. It also has a height adjustment facility. While working on the product, Mohandas checked its functionality used a 1:2 scale prototype which was fabricated. The product was tested with a human body by transferring a child from the rest unit to the stretcher.

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Asish Mohandas's innovation will now compete for the International Winner Award and a cash prize of 30,000 pounds. The list of winners will be announced on October 26, 2017.

James Dyson Awards selects and awards only those innovations which are simple in design and at the same time create a huge positive impact on society.