Nadine Rabahi

Product Design Engineering

Hello! My name is Nadine and I am a final year product design engineering student. I am passionate about the intersection between design and engineering and how creative solutions can make a positive impact.

During my studies, I completed an internship with Integra Systems where I gained a substantial introduction to sheet metal design and fabrication. During my time there, I also helped facilitate the company's evolution into industry 4.0 practices.

Additionally, I have developed my professional and technical skills while working at Novatech Solutions for over 2 years. As they manage various engineering projects, I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of experts and projects over my time there.

For my final year project, I wanted to address the concerning gender bias within healthcare, focusing on the lack of research and understanding into Endometriosis specifically. Salma is a unique, wearable device that provides seamless and targeted pain relief to ease symptoms of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis, a debilitating condition affecting 1 in 7 Australians assigned female at birth, often results in excruciating pelvic pain. This condition, characterised by abnormal growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, frequently goes undiagnosed for an average of 6.5 years due to limited research and understanding. This delay results in prolonged suffering and diminished quality of life for

people with the disease.

Pioneering targeted pain relief, the Salma belt is specifically designed to alleviate Endometriosis-related pain. It targets the lower pelvic area and lower back simultaneously, offering a unique

combination of electrostimulation and far infrared heat therapy. The accompanying smartphone app

allows precise, real-time control over pain relief, with customisable routines to meet individual needs.

Additionally, Salma seamlessly integrates with popular period tracking apps to predict and suggest

daily pain relief settings based on reported symptoms throughout the user's menstrual cycle.

Moreover, Salma utilises comfortable, dry textile electrode technology, eliminating the inconvenience of traditional wet electrodes that require constant replenishment and repositioning with each use.

Salma, with its intuitive interface, pain relief prediction and innovative e-textile technology, empowers women to prioritise their peace and comfort, addressing a long history of neglect regarding women’s pain in healthcare.

SALMA - a name of Arabic origin associated with “safety,” “peace” and ”tranquillity”

Salma

A unique, wearable device that provides seamless and targeted pain relief to ease symptoms of Endometriosis.

Lower Abdomen Pain Relief

Specially zoned areas of TENS and Far Infrared Heat therapy

Lower Back Pain Relief

Specially zoned areas of TENS and Far Infrared Heat therapy

Designed for Everyday Movement

"Why are you running?"

Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.