Academic City University has donated a paediatric rehabilitation staircase to the Ga East Municipal Hospital to support physiotherapy and rehabilitation services for children receiving treatment at the facility.

This donation comes at a time when health authorities are urging innovators to design low-cost medical equipment with health workers from the drawing board, so that devices meet local needs and can be maintained by local engineers.

The presentation followed an innovative project undertaken by Level 400 Biomedical Engineering students of the university as part of their academic work.

The project began about two years ago when the students took courses in Medical Devices and Technologies and Rehabilitation Engineering. As part of the courses, they were required to identify a clinical need and develop a practical solution to address a biomedical challenge.

During a visit to the Ga East Municipal Hospital, the students engaged with the Physiotherapy Department and observed that although the department had a rehabilitation staircase for adults, it lacked one specifically designed for paediatric patients.

To address this gap, the students designed and developed a paediatric rehabilitation staircase, which they submitted as part of their academic requirements.

Recognising its potential to improve patient care, the university’s Biomedical Engineering Department further refined the design, structure and aesthetics of the student-developed device.

These improvements aimed to make the staircase more durable, practical and suitable for use in the hospital’s paediatric rehabilitation activities.

Presenting the equipment, the Coordinator of the Biomedical Engineering Department, Mr Jacob Quarshie, said the project demonstrated what could be achieved when classroom learning was tied to real needs in the community.

"Our students did not simply sit in a lecture hall and write an examination. They went to the hospital, listened to the clinicians, and found a problem affecting children. This staircase is the result, and we are proud to hand it over to the hospital," he said.

Upon receiving the equipment, the Chief Nursing Officer at Ga East Municipal Hospital, Ms Veronica Momo-Blabi, expressed gratitude to Academic City for the gesture.

She said the hospital would put the device to immediate use and take good care of it so that many more children would benefit.