1. Principles and practices

This week I worked on defining my final project idea and started to getting used to the documentation process.

Research

When we were told that the first assigment would be to sketch our project, I literally fell off my chair.

I knew that at the end of the course we would have to deliver our final project, but already having more or less clear ideas from the first day was not part of my plans. I am certain of only one thing: that I want to bring a project inherent to the medical world, specifically regarding the spinal unit.

Patients with spinal cord injuries face multiple difficulties to live their daily lives. They have difficulty eating, washing, walking, writing, driving, dressing, cooking, not to mention architectural barriers in and out of their home. I started doing some research, and found out that there may be quadriplegic or paraplegic patients. Quadriplegic patients have a high cervical injury that affects all four limbs. While paraplegic patients have a low back injury that affects both lower limbs. The idea is therefore to design one or more objects that can facilitate the daily actions of people affected by these particular and complex pathologies.

The sources I will rely on will be medical books, specifically physiotherapy books lent by a friend, and online testimonials from patients suffering from spinal cord injuries. On youtube I found two very interesting channels regarding this topic. One is called “Special books by special kids”, which consists in a series of interviews with patients with disabilities and neurologists.

The other is the channel of Makayla Noble, an American girl suffering from quadriplegia who talks about her daily life through videos and vlogs.

That said, it’s time for me to go and do some sketches, see you at the next chapter of this journey!

This is a perfect representation of my enthusiasm, which will be killed by the next assignments that I don’t know yet: