Charlwood Design and Monash University China

The Mittstrom Mid-Stream Urine Collection device and the 321 water bottle, both designed by Charlwood Design, were exhibited as part of the opening ceremony events at the Southeast University - Monash University Joint Graduate School (Suzhou) opening in China this week.

The Mittstrom Mid-Stream Urine Collection device has recently won the BASF Plastics Innovation Award and the Melbourne and Sydney Design Awards, as well as being a finalist in the Victorian Premier's Design Awards 2103. The 321 water bottle was also included in the Suzhou H20 exhibition for World Industrial Design Day 2013.

The exhibition at the new Monash campus in China showcased Australian innovation and industrial design expertise in medical and scientific device design.

Plastics Innovation Award 2013

The Charlwood Design team was delighted to win the BASF Plastics Innovation Award for the Mittstrom Urine Test Device on 18th September, at the PlastixANZ Plastics Industry Awards 2013.

Mittstrom is an innovative device for the hygienic collection of midstream urine for analysis. It is a low-cost, fully biodegradable corn-starch saddle into which a standard pathology collection jar is placed. Initial urine is diverted from the jar by a thin membrane which dissolves over 3 seconds allowing the midstream urine to flow into the collection vial. Once finished the user simply removes the filled jar and flushes the device down the toilet. This innovative product has been granted patents internationally. Charlwood Design created the simple solution to the problem, using the unique (Plantic) material and tested it for performance.

Paul Charlwood said "this really shows how design can create a new business opportunity through innovative application of materials and insight to the end user’s needs."