Chaitra Kawathekar

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University of Nottingham > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2024 > MEng students > Chaitra Kawathekar

Companion is a range of walking aid products designed for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Hi, my name’s Chaitra, and I’m a MEng Product Design and Manufacture student at the University of Nottingham. I spent my placement year at Oval Medical Technologies, a small medical design company and consultancy. Product design has been something I’ve always done in my spare time, whether that’s making small, fun projects, or designing products that help myself and others around me. When I realised that product design was an entire degree and career, it was a no brainer.

I’ve learned a great deal about designing a product during my time on the course, from developing the idea conceptually to making it feasible for manufacture. My time away on placement year was very fulfilling and gave me exposure to the medical design field – something which I’ve always been fascinated by. Having worked in the industry for a year, I’ve now decided it’s something I’d love to pursue further.

Having used Solidworks since year 11, I’ve grown to appreciate (and get annoyed by) the software and its capabilities. I enjoy the CAD and prototyping phases of the design process, particularly because of how iterating the design always leads to something so much better than what I started with. I own my own 3D printer, which has led me to place a huge amount of emphasis on prototyping during the design process.

Going forward, I’m excited to get involved in many more projects professionally, and applying everything I’ve learned to create even more products that help people.

Chaitra Kawathekar, MEng Product Design and Manufacture

Digital portfolio

Companion: Walking aid for patients of Parkinson’s disease

Companion is a range of walking aid products designed for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Patients with Parkinson’s disease have a range of debilitating symptoms which restrict their mobility and make walking extremely difficult. Some of the most common symptoms include freezing of gait, difficulty with balance and posture, and shuffling steps. It is in patients’ best interest to stay active, as physical activity and training strongly correlate to an improvement in mobility and muscular strength in patients. This, in turn, reduces the likelihood of Parkinson’s disease from progressing.

Walking aids give patients the stability, assistance, and confidence to venture outside independently, allowing them to preserve their social life, go on walks and keep physically fit. Because they become such a permanent addition to people’s lives, walking aids are equally emotional as they are practical. The way they look, and feel is just as important as how they function, because using walking aids shouldn’t feel shameful or undignified for the user.

The final design explores the use of sensory (auditory, visual, and haptic) cues to aid Parkinson’s patients whilst walking. These cues have been proven to help breaks episodes of freezing and hesitation, as well as initiating walking.

The design comprises of a range of products under the umbrella brand ‘companion’. Three products have been designed:

companion Poles, which provide visual + haptic cues
companion Buds, which provides auditory cues
companion Dock, which unifies the products and provides a common place to charge and store the devices

By using the range of products, Parkinson’s patients can experience the benefits of sensory cues to aid walking, whilst also recording crucial data about their walking style which can then be used by physiotherapists and healthcare professionals to provide better treatment for their condition. The Poles also provide the user with a physically supportive walking aid that promotes an upright walking posture. Due to the Nordic-walking style grips, users are encouraged to use both their upper and lower bodies during walking, which leads to strengthening of the whole body.

One of the unique selling points of the companion system is the automation of cueing during an episode of freezing. Using a system of sensors and user inputs, the products will automatically begin cueing to the user when freezing is detected, removing the need for users to think during an episode of freezing.