IIT Bombay develops portable chair for rural dental camps

Designed with hygiene and transportability as primary concern, the chair is lightweight, occupies less space in dental vans and has attached wheels to form a trolley.  

Researchers at the IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, have developed a portable chair for rural dental camps. Dental camps are medical camps organised by dentists for diagnosis and treatment at rural as well as urban areas.  

The researchers, who are ready with a pilot production, wanted to make a chair that was portable and easy to use and clean. They had several discussions with dentists to address specific problems pertaining to the patient chair in rural dental camps. Now, the prototype will be handed over for use to understand if more changes are required. 

“We have taken a student project from design to pilot production for the benefit of dental patients in rural areas,” said Prof BK Chakravarthy at the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay.  

He said over 70 per cent of the Indian population lives in rural areas, where only one dentist is available for every 2,50,000 residents.  

The portable patient chair provides travelling dental camps with a sturdy and adjustable folding chair. Designed with hygiene and transportability as primary concern, the chair is lightweight, occupies less space in dental vans and has attached wheels to form a trolley.

This chair will allow dental camps to cater to a larger proportion of the under-represented patient base of urban and rural India, considerably enhancing access to basic healthcare. 

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