The Elderly Disabled Bathtub Design

In the present and future of China’s aging population increasingly grim situation, the case for old is just at it starting stage, especially in the design and development of sanitary products for the elderly is still lacking. Due to the dysfunctional physiologic with increasing age, the requirements on equipments of bathroom on elders have been overcome young people. Since the present bathroom in our country hasn’t been adequately consider some special demands of elders, in this article will focus on the different psychological and physiological needs of elders, in order to dispel their consideration on the usage of bath and help them to apply the bath with safety and convenient and comfort.This design project is based on the accessible design theory that combined with knowledge of ergonomics, psychology and systemically analyze elderly physiologic. According to different psychological and physiological issues of elders, three types of them have been made in order to study their potential difficulties and provide them solutions and supports. In this article, four design plans are shown below. First, to make elders fully enjoy all round bathing, massage is combined with bathtub, and it will helps the elders to get into bathtub and to save the space of bathroom. Second, it is provided convenience to elders who with walking problems. The "open-door" bathtub, besides the inner of bathtub will use a completely new environmental protection material to provide elders convenience and safety. The third idea is to introduce a helpful bathtub to paramedics, and this bathtub give huge advantages to paramedics who take care dependent elders while bathing. Forth, this idea is more likely conceptual design is that modifying the part of the traditional hip bathtub into the inflatable, making it have the same functionality with a walk-in shower.The four ideas are study on the different psychological and physiological stage of elders, and provide particular solutions for their safety and convenient bath.