Bachelor Assignment

Every year there is a group of patients who undergo a craniectomy (removal of part of the skull) after they were victim of an accident. The helmets that exist for these patients are uncomfortable and stigmatising. The lack of suitable head protection lead to the aim of developing innovative head protection to improve the recovery experience of craniectomy patients.

There were three design directions to improve the head protection experience. A redesigned helmet including several new features, a neutral positioning device and rewritten legislation for the nurses and family regarding the usage of the helmet. Chosen was the first design direction.

After idea generation, creating mock-up models, testing these with the stakeholders a final design for the helmet was created, the CraniCare. A concept which is lighter, cheaper, can withstand water and is less stigmatising than the current head protection.