Background:

Vicky is 43 years old and has a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Vicky was referred to Solve-TAD by her Occupational Therapist Shafinas, for Solve-TAD’s input to create a tipping mechanism to assist her to scrape out the contents from pans, pots and bowls during her meal preparation. Vicky’s Occupational Therapist was inspired by a previous bowl tipper project that was advertised as an example of unique solutions on Solve-TAD’s website.

Assessment:

At the initial assessment, Vicky, Shafinas (OT), Peter (Volunteer) and I discussed the requirements of Vicky’s function needed to be considered in the design for the tipper mechanism, which included:

–  Vicky has difficulties with stabilising her wrist joints to carry heavy pots/pans/bowls with food in it;

–  Vicky has limited grip strength to lift and hold pots/pans/mixing bowls when scraping out food into bowls, plates and baking cookware;

Vicky’s multiple sclerosis progression has affected her ability to use some of her fingers, causing difficulties with movement of finger joints for correct positioning to hold

Solution:

Peter and I suggested creating a wooden tipping device that can hold her pots, pans and bowls firmly and uses a lever to tip the cookware at 45 degrees to be able to scrape out the food easily.

Design:

Peter was inspired by a previous wooden tipper mechanism design completed by Solve-TAD Volunteer, Roland Wahlquist, from a project in 2020.

There were changes from the original design by Roland to suit Vicky’s functional requirements including:

–  Lightweight lever mechanism for the tipper;

–  Nonslip material and locking attachment used on the cookware/mixing bowl positioning to prevent from slipping out of the placement;

–  Stand positioning to prevent the tipper mechanism from moving when in use;

–  Ideal height of the custom tipper for clearance to scoop out food items into bowls, plates and baking cookware. As a result, a separate extension base was created.

Vicky also added that the tipper mechanism is only required for her pan and glass mixing bowl, as they were the most used kitchen cookware during her meal preparation.

During the conceptualisation of the design, Peter also created a cardboard prototype and completed a trial during a follow up home visit to ensure the concept functioned correctly.

Outcome:

Peter completed the build for the custom bowl tipper, which included a few trips to Vicky’s home to ensure all the parts met the requirements and Monash Men’s Shed to complete the construction. Peter went above and beyond on the project which also included travelling across the city to deliver the final product.

Vicky was thankful for all the assistance for this project and will continue cooking and baking for her family and friends.