Development of ergonomic seating for dental operator chair

Sammanfattning: This report covers the examination of course Degree of Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design MSGC12. The course is given on the Innovation and Design Program at the Faculty of Health, Science and Technology at Karlstad University. The course corresponds to 22.5 credits and extends over the spring semester in 2017. Examiner is Leo de Vin and supervisor is Kristina Gullander. The project is carried out on behalf of Support Design AB, which manufactures and distributes handmade ergonomic chairs. The company is aiming primarily at the dental and medical industry, where they have discovered a great interest in flexible and ergonomic chairs. There are today competing brands that manufacture chairs whose seats are similar to Support Designs. The company now wishes to expand its range of seating in order to differ from market competitors. Need for a more concrete foundation in research on sitting in the dental sector is also something they are looking for. The assignment therefore consists of developing an ergonomically designed seat for dental operator chairs, which has a strong foundation in research on sitting in the dental industry and has got a unique design. The project's pre-study starts with a literature study, with a large emphasis on trying to define what a good and ergonomic sitting posture is. This is done to provide a basis for a subsequent analysis of interviews and observations by dental staff. To survey the needs of the users, 15 interviews are performed with dental staff to gain an insight into their views of the workplaces and existing operator chairs. Structured observations are carried out at 11 patient visits in connection with the interviews to find motion patterns and review their work positions. The result of the preliminary study shows that many in dental care experience or has experienced work-related pain, especially shoulders, neck and back. A wide legged and relatively ergonomic working position is commonly observed in narrow operating rooms.   The project results in 15 different concepts where four qualify for prototype manufacturing and testing. One concept is perceived to be the most comfortable while another is perceived to be the most unique. One concept meets ergonomic criteria best and another does not meet all the important requirements that the pre-study generated.