Innovation By- Saravanamuthu (Tamil Nadu)

Problem Addressed : Mr. Saravana’s wife became temporarily bedridden after an operation and needed help to go to the toilet. This made her highly uncomfortable to the extent that she would rather control bowel movement than seek help, which further added to her woes. This motivated Saravana Muthu to design a bed with an attached toilet pot for use by his wife to relieve herself without assistance.

Technology : He designed a cot fitted with a 12 V battery to operate two gear motors to move the attached toilet pot vertically and sideways. The innovation includes a flush tank, a closet and a pipe connected to the septic tank. The patient can operate the toilet with the help of a remote. The buttons can be used to open the shutter and the closet, and as well as flush the toilet.

Societal Impact : This machine helps bed ridden people mitigate dependencies on other for using toilet. It also protects the privacy and dignity of people who need assistance in using toilet. He received a national Presidential award by NIF for his innovation.

Current Status : The innovator has received more than 300 orders since 2015 but has been able to sell only 9 due to financial constraints in production. With financial assistance and marketing guidance, the toilet attached cot has potential to be in hospitals, care homes and families with bedridden people. It was supported by GIAN under MVIF.

(for more information, please see the GIAN blog here and here.)