When Lewis Hornby was in college in London, his grandmother, Pat, was rushed to the hospital after her health rapidly declined. Family flew in, expecting the worst, but she quickly rebounded after 24 hours on IV fluids. His grandmother had deteriorated because of dehydration, a common problem for people with dementia.
"Shocked at how something so minor can have such a big effect, I started to research the issue and found it to be a major problem for many," Hornby told MNN.
He discovered that people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia often have issues with dehydration. Some just don't feel thirsty, don't find water palatable or have a hard time swallowing. He realized that it's much easier for them to eat, and they find it more intuitive to use their hands — so he decided to create a kind of water you can eat.
"I wanted to create a hydrating finger food," Hornby says. "So I consulted with doctors to work out the mechanisms by which the body absorbs water and prototyped some versions."
Hornby created something that eventually evolved into Jelly Drops, colorful bite-sized balls of water with some electrolytes mixed in. He packaged them in an attractive, easy-to-open container that almost looks like a candy box.
Jelly Drops are packaged in an easy-open container that makes the colorful balls easy to see. (Photo: Lewis Hornby)
"I found that if I offered a treat to people with dementia they became much more animated, so I used this as a vehicle to get their attention. The resulting format excites people with dementia and they immediately know how to interact with it," he says. "The shape, consistency and the touch of the drops are all designed to be easy to handle, whilst the box's chunky handle, clear lid with locking hinges and booklet are to attract attention and be easy to use."
Hornby, now 24, took five months to develop Jelly Drops. It was his graduating project while he studied innovation design engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. During that time, he lived in his grandmother's senior care home for several weeks, and she was his tester.
"I knew it worked when she ate seven in the first 10 minutes, the equivalent to a glass of water, something that would usually take a lot of assistance and much more time," Hornby says.
Watch Hornby with his grandma as she samples the Jelly Drops.
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Since their creation, Jelly Drops have won several awards including the Helen Hamlyn Design Award, the Snowdon Award for Disability and the Dyson School of Design Engineering DESIRE Award for Social Impact. The product is still under development as Hamby is conducting more trials in other senior homes and is putting together a team to get the product on the market.
"I wanted to tackle the issue because it's something my grandma struggles with," Hamby says. "But beyond that, dementia is the biggest killer in the U.K. and I feel the care home is a relatively under-resourced environment that could benefit massively from better design."
Related on MNN:
Man creates 'water you can eat' to help his grandma stay hydrated
Dehydration is a serious problem for people with dementia, and Lewis Hornby's Jelly Drops offer a solution.
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News Pictures Man creates 'water you can eat' to help his grandma stay hydrated
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
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