17 September 2017 |
“Baan Ta Noi 1.0” Delivery
Today our prototype for a mobile peritoneal dialysis unit nicknamed “Baan Ta Noi 1.0” was delivered to a patient who cannot afford frequent visits to the community hospital to receive the mandatory medical treatments. The station was designed and developed by a group of Architecture students from Kasetsart University under the elective course Action Design in 2016, with a close guidance from Built Environment for Health Research Unit (BE4H), various medical experts from Lam Sonthi Hospital, and funding support by Thai Health Promotion Foundation. Built under a limited budget of 50,000 baht and equipped with necessary systems, the prototype can be folded, transported and installed at any location to service another patient when no longer in use. The ability to transfer concept reflected the real situation that the students experienced when Ta Noi – the kidney patient it was originally designed for – had passed away before the prototype was completed. The unit is now ready to provide a sanitized environment for the peritoneal dialysis process (with medical equipments provided by the hospital) for a 25-year-old male patient adjacent to his rural village home in Amphoe Lam Sonthi, Lopburi province, making it easier to facilitate the family engagement. Not only did the project allow students to solve practical design problems in real life and contribute to the underprivileged, they also received a valuable lesson how built environment has much to support health and wellbeing.