Minor Project
22nd September 2025 - 7th January 2026
NABIL JULIUS DORN (037978)
(MINOR PROJECT) | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media | Taylor's University
Patient transfer device
List
INSTRUCTIONS
This is the Module Information Booklet for this module:
From the client brief, we understood some common challenges involved in the
topic. It was gathered that elderly individuals with
limited mobility struggle with daily routines. They also
require significant help for transfers between
bed to wheelchair and vice versa. This also applies to other forms of
transfers and transportation depending on the severity of their
disability. Current wheelchairs are also inadequate in design,
leading to physical strain, stress, and frustration for
caregivers.
PROJECT
During the first 2 weeks, we formed a team of 7 people from different specializations. We then conducted our contextual research based on the topic. We were delegated into two teams:
- Team 1: User research
- Problem statement
- Research Objectives
- Research Questions
- Target Market
- User personas
- Team 2: Device Study
- Device mechanism
- Market Study
- Pros and Cons
- Cost analysis
Empathy
In this section, we interviewed 3 caretakers and 3 elderly patients to gather
information regarding their process and daily routines.
All interviews fulfilled these inclusion and exclusion criteria that we set.
These are the key findings gathered from the interviews:
Define
After the empathy was set, we continued on to the Define phase which included
these aspects:
1. User Persona
2. User Journey Map
3. Problem Statement
4. "How Might We" Questions
User Persona
The two main user personas were developed for both the elderly patient and
their caretaker.
User Journey Map
The maps were developed based on the interviews conducted during the empathy
section of the project to identify their behaviors and frustrations
Problem Statement
From the information gathered, we came up with two key problem statements for
the Ideations phase.
1. Elderly patients with limited mobility wants to move independently because
they want to reduce caretakers burden and regain their own autonomy.
2. Caregivers need a way to reduce physical strain and anxiety while assisting
their elderly patient because they lack professional training in using these
devices.
"How Might We" Questions
A list of HMW questions were developed to set the direction of the Ideation
phase which would be our foundation for brainstorming
Ideation
This section of the project was the most interesting because of our lack of
experience in the engineering side of product design. We needed to conduct
large scale research and come up with ideas during this stage.
Pre-Task Presentation
We went through the crazy 8 ideation during class which provided some useful
ideas for us to carry forward with and flesh out.
Here are our sketches made in class:
After the crazy 8s, we shortlisted some of the ideas using the Prioritization Matrix and MoSCOW Method.
Here is our proposal for our project so far:
Post Task 1 Presentation
After receiving feedback, we further refined our ideas. 4 HMW questions were
then shortlisted to target specific challenges that elderly patients and
caregivers face.
We then concluded this by aiming to build 2 products; a wheelchair and a mobile app along with it.
Ideation 1: Wheelchair
After refinement, we decided to have a chair that is fully adjustable, ergonomic, and has a sliding feature to bridge the chair to the bed.
Ideation 2: Mobile App
For the mobile app. 2 versions were developed for the set up and the user flow.
Prototype
Branding and Art Direction
As we were progressing, we proceeded with the art direction and branding of
the products planned.
"Kineo" is derived from the words "Kinetics" and "Neo", which represent a paradigm shift in patient mobility.
I was then tasked with creating the prototype of the wheelchair and design it
in 3D. This was done using Blender 3D to visualize function, form,
and proportions.
Here are some of the initial stages in designing the chair:
The shape of the chair was designed with reference to gaming chairs and
ergonomic office chairs as they were designed to support seating over long
periods of time.
After the seating was modeled, I then roughly designed the wheels to figure
out the proportions.
Here is the first stage block out of the design so far:
After some more refinement and design, I felt like the design of the entire chair could look more futuristic with some nice curves.
I then tried reclining the chair to see if there are any intersecting parts and weird sections that would need further refinement.
Upon receiving feedback from Dr Wong And Professor Manohar, they stated that the chair doesnt look very soft and comfortable for patients to use over extended periods of time. They also mentioned that the chair needs more lumbar support. I then proceeded to make further refinement.
I also proceeded to texture the chair and play with color schemes
This is the folding feature for easy storage and mobility of the chair.
And this picture shows the the chair with the adjustments made after receiving feedback
We also discussed on the color scheme as grey and blue felt very clinical and uninviting.
This is the color scheme we agreed upon.
Here is the final design of the chair:
The wheelchair is optimized for 2 key features:
1. Cushion side slide- This ensures that the chair can gap the bridge
and allow the patient to slide onto the bed.
2. Folding mechanism- The chair folds and collapses into a flatter form
for easy storage and transport.
User testing
After the prototype development, we conducted 5 user testing with potential
users including 4 caretakers and 1 elderly patient.
The objective was to understand the overall user impression of the chair
design and to test the usability and function of the mobile app.
Here are their feedback:
Refinement
We decided to use the demo video and break it down to make an instructional
video as well.
We added more still images and pauses in the video to emphasize certain
instructions and functions. This would help clearer explanations and
indications of specific components.
Final Presentation
REFLECTIONS
This module taught me that patient transfers arent just a technical problem but also a daily challenge that affects the patients as well as the caretakers both physically and mentally. While researching existing transfer devices, I realised that many still rely heavily on caretakers for assistance and do not fully support patient independence.
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