Sanus Grip
Problem Identified
People that are living with limited grip strength often struggle in the mornings to perform tasks. Limited grip strength and finger dexterity can be a result of musculoskeletal disorders, arthritis or just with old age. These symptoms and conditions are often amplified in the mornings due to the lack of movement and blood flow into the hands overnight. This causes a painful morning experience which comes with joint stiffness, cold hands, and the inability to form a fist or grip things.
What is the Sanus Grip
The Sanus Grips is a hand exerciser and warmer that is used in the mornings to reduce morning and stiffness through movement and heat therapy. The Sanus Grip comes with a docking station where the user can heat the grips of the device in less than two minutes. By designing the device with sensory stimulating mechanisms inspired from fidget toys, the user experience is more enjoyable and is likely to encourage continuous use.
What Impact does this product have?
Introducing movement in the mornings to fingers and thumbs, the likelihood of developing fused joints is reduced. The heating element creates both a pleasuring experience of toasty, warm mug-like sensation but also increases the blood flow to the hand, increasing the user’s grip strength and preparing them for daily activities.
By working with specialists in the field, I was able to design exercise parameters that my device would follow. These parameters acted as a foundation for the form and sketch-model experiments that further guided the design process..
It was essential in the design process for each iteration to be tested and validated with development partners. Heated grips were created with Kanthal wire over-moulded in silicone and every exercise mechanism was resin or 3D printed to later be tested to ensure that the exercise parameters were met.
