720682Freedom through Design - Putting People at the Heart of Wheelchair DesignClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKMDL’s Freedom through Design project aims to design a range of six wheelchairs that can be assembled from one set of components. The wheelchairs are designed to be affordable in lowincome countries. Currently, wheelchair suppliers generally sell a range of chairs which each require different components. Different size options must be ordered separately, and modifications for individual user needs are expensive and cumbersome to attach. This new design will revolutionise how we deliver wheelchairs, eliminating the need for more than 40 different product/size combinations across our range. Customers will instead purchase a supply of components which they can easily assemble into low-cost but completely customised wheelchairs designed for the needs of disabled people in developing countries. This new modular design will simplify our manufacturing, distribution and ordering processes, lower our product prices, and improve our delivery timescales. The initial concept of a revolutionary modular wheelchair design has been proven through an Innovation UK Proof of Concept grant (POC), and is now ready for the next stage of its design development – taking a fully tested and trialled prototype to the pre-production stage that is ‘market ready’.No other supplier in the world delivers a range of wheelchairs designed in this way - focusing on total design for human based needs and service delivery rather than an engineering solution approach. With the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimating that over 80 million people in the poorest countries need a wheelchair to lead a productive life, this project has the potential to change thousands of lives.