New exhibition has designs on health innovation

A suit made of mohair wool made to look like human skin and a series of neck braces to assist motor neurone sufferers are two of the exhibits at a major new conference which opens today.

Design4Health 2013 takes place in the Cantor Building at Sheffield Hallam University, with the accompanying exhibition taking place in the gallery until Friday 19 July.

Crocheted Membrane, by Canadian artist Sonja Baumel, is one of the most though-provoking pieces at the exhibition. It imagines how clothing of the future could look if it was made from human bacteria.

Sonja said: "This project is a visualisation of how we could use our unique bacteria population to create new clothes that would react to our individual body temperature."

Professor of fine art David Cotterrell has created Anesthisia,  an installation for the exhibition which looks at his experiences working in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

And Head Up, a project from the Lab4Living team at the University, is another of the feature exhibits at this year’s event.

The Lab4Living team won an i4i (Invention for Innovation) research bid from the NIHR with partners from Devices for Dignity and Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience to develop a new neck collar for people with neck muscle weakness, with a focus on supporting those with Motor Neurone Disease.

University designers are currently building 30 neck braces ahead of a 10-month testing period.

Lab4Living’s Paul Chamberlain said: “It is widely recognised there is an urgent need to radically transform the way we deliver healthcare service in response to an ageing society.

“Innovation has been cited as key in the challenge to improve quality whilst facing the demands of restricted funding.

"Design can play a key role in supporting and developing creative approaches and in adopting and diffusing innovative healthcare products and services.

“But design effectiveness, in terms of economic benefits, enhancing patient and healthcare practitioner experience, has to be more explicit and Design4Health 2013 will provide a forum for debate around ‘evidence based’ design.”

For more information on the exhibition and conference, go to the Design4Health website.

For press information: contact Laurie Harvey in the Sheffield Hallam University press office on 0114 225 2621 or email laurie.harvey@shu.ac.uk