The Goldilocks collar – just right for improving patients’ quality of life

The University of Sheffield’s Neuroscience Institute blog includes an update on they are calling the Goldilocks collar – something just right for improving patients’ quality of life. The ‘Head Up‘ collar was developed by a team including designers from Lab4Living within the Art & Design Research Centre.

Professor Chris McDermott, head of the interdisciplinary research team at the University of Sheffield, notes a significant moment in one of the patient-designer group meetings which underlines the vital role of the designers in facilitating the patient-centred approach. The moment came when a service user realised they were driving the process by talking about their specific needs, and that the designers (Lab4Living‘s Heath Reed, Andy Stanton and Joe Langley) were responding to their ideas. He believes the patient-centred approach is one reason the collar is so successful.

The ‘Head up’ collar has now been rolled out across the NHS and at least 25 trusts across the UK and around the world including the United States and Canada.

The collar is manufactured and distributed by Talarmade. Read more about Head Up on the Lab4Living website and the University of Sheffield’s blog post here.