Ford creates special seat belt for mastectomy patients

Jane Anderson
Jane Anderson
Mujer usando un cinturón de seguridad especial para mastectomía

Undergo surgery mastectomy It involves a lot of pain, some of which is experienced in everyday activities, such as driving. The pressure of wearing a securely fastened seat belt on your still-healing chest can be agonizing, and it’s something the auto industry faces. ford has sought to provide a solution with a special belt for patients of this breast cancer treatment.

The company has presented Ford SupportBelt, a device designed to address a need that the nearly 100,000 people in the United States who undergo a mastectomy each year may have. It is an idea worked together with the VML creative agency and, as the brand explains, specifically with its Creative Director, Lynn Simoncini, also a patient of this type of operation.

The device, developed by Ford’s Human Centered Design team, is made of a soft, breathable foam that fits the seat belt with the mission of relieve pressure and reduce discomfort on the chest of a person with a mastectomy while driving. The objective is to facilitate the correct use of the belt after surgery, since many patients use it inappropriately or do not use it at all due to the discomfort it causes.

As explained by the company, the belt is made with flexible foam and has 40% materials from recycled plastic bottles. It has been designed and validated by Ford and developed in collaboration with mastectomy patients, engineers, doctors and experts to provide comfort and security to those who, after the operation, suffer wounds, scars or swelling.

Ford claims that it is the first seat belt accessory specifically focused on mastectomy designed by an American automobile manufacturer. The company will offer the SupportBelt to mastectomy patients in the United States at no cost, and it can be ordered through the company’s website.

Automotive technology company Lear Corp will manufacture an initial batch of devices at least through the end of 2024, with the first shipments expected in mid-November. The patent will be opened to other manufacturers, As commented by the automobile company, so that production is expanded throughout the world.

To publicize the initiative, Ford has created a video series in which it shows the design and manufacturing process and shares the vision of the device by the people involved in its creation. In addition, patients who have collaborated with the initiative share their experiences.

SupportBelt has been presented at the beginning of a month of October always focused on the fight against cancer, and is frames Ford’s support for the cause. The company has been linked to this territory for 30 years and claims to have dedicated almost 140 million dollars to the fight against breast cancer through different initiatives.