This document describes the "Suupirssi" project which aims to improve access to oral healthcare for people in rural areas through the use of a mobile oral care unit. The project is a collaboration between universities, companies, and healthcare organizations. It involves understanding user needs through research, designing the concept for a mobile unit, and testing the design. The design process is user-centered and iterative, involving prototyping, testing, and feedback from experts and patients. The goal is to develop an accessible, customer-oriented mobile dental clinic that can be easily used by elderly and disabled patients in remote locations.

1. Satu Miettinen, Juha Miettinen, Antti Kares, Raisa Leinonen and Timo Sirviö
Kuopio Academy of Design, Savonia University of Applied Sciences
Finland
P.O. BOX 98, FIN -70101 KUOPIO
Email: office@designkuopio.fi
"DE-SME - Intelligent Furniture - Training for Design,
Environment and New Materials in SMEs"
Agreement n. 2009 - 2196 / 001 - 001

2. Theme 5.3.1.
Case a)
Project ”Suupirssi”
Mobile Oral Care Unit
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3. Project Background
• The purpose of the Suupirssi project (ESF) were to develop oral health care service
and division of the work in order to ensure rapid access to dental care and high-
quality services for people in rural areas. The purpose is also to develop the oral
health training for dental hygienist students and the services of the dental clinic in
cooperation with those working in the field.
• The access to services gets easier by bringing them to the customers with mobile
oral care unit (Suupirssi) and by spreading the methods and models of operation
throughout the entire province.
• The target for the service is to offer customer-oriented oral health care and to
improve the customers’ abilities for oral self care.
• The service is intended for oral health care customers living in rural areas in Nort-
Savo and for oral health care organisations throughout the province. Elderly people
are the most important target group in the project.
• Cooperation:Savonia University of Applied Sciences, University of Eastern Finland,
Savo Consortium for Education. Companies: Plandent Oy, J5L
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4. Case project phases
• Understanding users:
– identification of user groups
– orientation to the working area and tasks, taking the user
position /”making user´s journey”
• Concept design:
– making needs understable, physical space and dimensions,
ergonomics, working tasks between dentists and oral hygienists..
- sketcing, scale models, scenarios, test environment 1:1 of
interior, furnitures, lightning and intruments…
• Designing
- ergonomics, usability, interior, functionality...
• Testing
- iterative process and evaluating in cooperation with experts
- testing process with patients is ongoing (2011-2012)

5. Concept Design “Suupirssi“
in Service Production
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6. At the Suupirssi-case the Service Journey of elderly disabled
person using a wheel chair consists if following service sessions:
• Patient will accompany to the oral care unit Suupirssi
• Contact to the staff
• The patient will assisted inside the car
• Take off the outerwear and hang them to the rack
• Checking the patient information
• Patient will helped to the dental unit chair
• The experiences of different stages of treatment
• End of the treatment session, feedback and possible guidelines for the home care….etc.

8. The user-centered-design
in
Case “Suupirssi”
The Interactive Design Process

9. Understand users (professionals). Iterative user research like focus
groups/interviews,field studies. Visiting dental clinics and learning environments.

10. Understanding users. Iterative user research. Visiting the different
kind of dental clinics and oral care learning environments.
University of Oulu/dentist clinic, learning environment

11. Understand users. Iterative user
research. Visiting the different kind of
dental clinics and oral care teaching
environments.
Define interaction.
Demonstration of treatment activities

12. Define interaction.
• Demonstration of treatment activities
• Dimensions needed for nursing
situation
• User observation
Result:
• Caracter and dimensions nursing and
learning environment
• Basis for the choose of car type
• Scetches and scale models of
interiors

13. Scenarios, storytelling / storyboard
in the process of understanding
users

14. Understand Users (example of future patients)
”…I woud not afraid if there were children stuff..” ”…It
…”I don´t dare to go there…” would be nice, if there were children songs…”
”.. I´d like to visit the car beforehand…” ”…it´s pleasant if you get something with you; sticker or toy…”
”…I rather go to the usual dental clinic…”
…”I was afraid to sit to the dental unit, but then mother came with me …”
…” the most important for us is how to get in to the car and how to get out from
car when you are unfit.…..stairs should be flat and the handrail is needed..”

15. User scenarios, user profiles
Imaginary stories of future users of Suupirssi-oral care vehicle.
The dentist, oral hygienist student, children patient, elderly with wheel chair and handicapped
customer. .

16. Imaginary story of oral hygienist workin day in Suupirssi
- emphatic design, taking the user position

17. Taking the user positon .Imaginary story of dentist and oral hygienic workin
day in Suupirssi
Morning activities at Suupirssi garage: filling up water tanks, cheking the list of patients and bringing the
instrumwents needed during the day. Navigation of the ”day trip”.
Arriving and parking: connection to the mains current, preparation of nursing interior for the patients.
8:00 am first patient with wheel chair. He is elevated in with wheel chair lifter. Then he is helped to the dental
unit. The usual dental care is made for the patient. Transfer to the next place.

18. The next dental care is made at home, in bed,
because of huge weight of patient.
Dentist
Nurse The monitory alarm of failure
Treatment
Student equipments
Two teeth were stopped
Taking the equipment to the car –
Ordering the service man

19. The dentist´s at the day - care center
15 children is
having a treatment
A familiar environment for children
makes situation more pleasant
Cleaning and packing
Coffee and
equipment
lunch brake 1h

20. Taking / packing all the things and equipement to the car and driving
to the ”headquarter”.
Bye-bye, leaving brochures
and toothbrushes to the day-care center Driving the car to the garage

21. Car service Treatment of sewage, disinfection
of instruments and cleaning tools
Clean-up the interior
End of the day
Save the patient information to the computer

22. The result of the phase Understand users
User groups Needs/purposes
Professionals:
- Oral hygienists
To offer dentists services and oral nursering to the
- Dental assistants customers and teaching students
- Dentists
Students: Practical training and learning service situations with real
-Oral hygienists and dental assistants
- Dentist students customers / patiens. Taking care of all the actions together
with teachers.
Customers: To get oral nursering and preventative dental care
- children
- handicapped persons
- elderly
-working population…
People connected to the customers: To get information
- Nurses
- Parents
-Teachers
Maintenance: Taking care of sanitation, service/overhaul and car functioning
- Cleaners, service men, care takers

23. Define interaction
User research synthesis. Organize and
summarize user research from phase
Understand Users
Benchmarking
Designboard
Moodboard
Way of Life board
Design Concepts

25. Mood board

26. Design board (to find the design genre)

27. Lifestyle Board

28. Define interaction, making concepts. Sketch and low-fidelity prototypes,
scale models, hand-drawings, 3D modelling
Sketchs/drafs for vechile interior of nursing unit , user interface

29. Define interaction, making design concepts

30. Define interaction. Making design concepts by
low fidelity prototypes
Scale models

31. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication
reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any
use which may be made of the information contained therein.
13.3.2012 31