Design for disability: Malav Sanghvi, Medinnov

Thursday August 15, 2013 , 2 min Read

Malav_Sanghvi — One of the winners of innovation awards at Medicall 2013 was Malav Singhvi, Co-founder of Medinnov, Ahmedabad (http://malavworks.blogspot.in/). A graduate from the National Institute of Design, Malav showcased a walking stick powered by hand. Attached to the leg at three different points – at the thigh area, below the knee, and the limb – the basic idea of his product is to transfer the hand muscle power to the leg through a channel, he explains.

“We have tried it for 20 different users, with different kinds of problems. Every time we do the user testing we get new ideas on how to improve the product,” says Malav. Currently Medinnov is working on the detachable base. “A short-foot person needs a special kind of shoe with a certain height. So we will attach that kind of base with this product, making the same product useful for the different users.”

What next? Are they going to manufacture? “We are in the testing phase right now. After testing, we will think of manufacturing, or partner with the manufacturers. We are concentrating more on the innovation part, and then the manufacturing part,” answers Malav.