93464Reducing Injury through Innovative Cot Bed DesignClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKKarekot is an innovative new nursery product that blends safety, functionaility and style in a unique, multi-functional design. Karekot is a fresh take on traditional cot design that has safety at its heart, but is equally concerned with aesthetics. Karekot easily changes between cot and toddler bed providing parents and children with a protective and user-friendly sleeping environment that will last throughout a child's formative years. Patent granted in five countries and with a pre-production prototype complete, we are ready to progress to the next stage of finalising design and taking Karekot to market. I'm Katharine Paterson, and what qualifies me primarily to do this job is that I am a Mum. A Mum who experienced difficulties with her baby in her traditional wooden-barred cot. My baby would regularly get her arms and legs stuck in the cot bars, or she would bump herself on the solid surfaces. Alarmed at her potential for injury, I bought cot bumpers thinking that they would protect her, but I was horrified to read the small print which referred to a danger of strangulation or suffocation, clearly not good enough for any baby, never mind my own! So this is what set me off on my mission to create a cot bed which has systematically designed out all the hazards I, and countless other parents face. Although driven by a desire to protect my baby, I have subsequently come to understand that its not just babies who injure themselves. Due to changes in the cotbed regulations, most cotbed manufacturers do not make cotbeds with drop sides, leading to potential injury to adult backs as they lift heavy toddlers in and out of the bottom of their cots. My ambition for Karekot to provide peace of mind to parents at what is a highly emotional and exhausting time. I do not think that in the 21st Century we should be be faced with babies injuring themselves in their safe places, equally, their parents should not be subject to potential injury either. Karekot's unique features and innovative drop side mechanism will hopefully go some way to substantially reducing such unnecessary injuries. I'm excited about the future and cannot wait to see Karekot on the market!