Saor Dexterity Assistive Product.
Project Inspiration.
The aim of this project is to find a new, innovative opportunity to create a product in response to the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With people all around the world being affected physically, emotionally and mentally the aim was to create a product to allow a specific target market to cope better with the “new normal”.
From my research it was clear there are now more than ever challenges within the disability sector. From medical challenges to isolation. With schools being closed and children who are high risk feeling the effect of COVID-19 I aimed to create a product that would make their life a little easier. There is a clear need for basic, functional, and reliable equipment in the disability sector that is affordable, adaptable and accessible.
I focused my research on the physical disability of Cerebral Palsy as people diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy are considered to be at high risk of developing a severe and possibly life-threatening case of COVID-19.
I focused my research on the physical disability of Cerebral Palsy as people diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy are considered to be at high risk of developing a severe and possibly life-threatening case of COVID-19.
Through this project, I aimed to enable those with Cerebral Palsy to express themselves, gain independence, have Occupational Therapy, take part in activities and allow them more freedom, by providing them with the opportunity to write, draw or paint.
Unique Features.
There are 17 million people worldwide who have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy with an additional 1,800 being diagnosed every year. 1 in 4 people with cerebral palsy are non-verbal and rely on eye gaze technology to express themselves and communicate. Writing a sentence on an eye gaze can often be a long and strenuous task, which requires extreme amounts of concentration. A key observation I made was that parents of children with cerebral palsy were struggling to complete all schoolwork in a timely manner, especially if they have more than one child, as they needed to complete all the writing and drawing for their child with cerebral palsy. This is because 90% of cerebral palsy cases have dropped wrists and clenched fists due to their hypertonia which causes high muscle tone, rigidity and spasmodic movements making it difficult for the user to hold a pen/pencil conventionally and comfortably. Saor aims to enable those with cerebral palsy to feel empowered when using a pen/pencil and enjoy the experience, while being able to express themselves and gain independence and freedom they did not have before using the product.
Ergonomic and Key Features.
The unique feature of Saor is its grip. The grip allows the user to hold the product in a way that doesn’t affect the natural clenched shape of their hand, due to their cerebral palsy. I used anthropometric data to create the grips based on average hand sizes, for a child, woman, and man. The grip also has minimum texture which allows it to be easily cleaned and disinfected. Saor has a spring-loaded adjustable joint to change the orientation, up to 5 different points, due to the fact that people with cerebral palsy sometimes have their wrists locked at different angles. Saor allows the user to use a variety of different materials (pens, pencils, markers, and paintbrushes) and also has a “V” shaped slot which stops the pen/pencil slipping to the side. The product can be used in either hand as the product is design with symmetry on all planes. There is also a silicone padding along the inside of the grip so that there is comfort when using over a long period of time.
