By Michelle Crean

One bright student is hoping her new product will change the way people with mobility issues write, draw and paint.

Final year Industrial Design student in GMIT, Mckella Daly, had to create a new, innovative product in response to the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After some inspiration and research she came up with a 3D printed assistive device which is aimed at helping people of all ages and abilities who want to express themselves creatively.

And she is now hoping to raise €10,000 to make her dream a reality and to achieve this has set up a Kickstarter campaign called 'Saor Dexterity Assistive Product'.

The unique circular grip allows the user to hold the product in a way that does not affect the natural clenched shape of their hand, Mckella explained.

"It is also helpful for people with arthritis and limited dexterity or fine motor skill issues. Saor is 3D printed in a durable, sustainable material that is also affordable. It makes it easy to adjust to the users' needs."

INSPIRATION

The inspiration for the unique design came from a nine-year-old child with Cerebral Palsy.

"I saw him write his name for the first time in his life!"

As her final year project was based on the difficulties caused by the pandemic she decided to focus on children who are considered vulnerable, mainly those with Cerebral Palsy, and from her research, she explains that it was clear that there are challenges, now more than ever, within the disability sector from medical challenges to isolation.

"After interviewing a number of children and their parents what became obvious was that they were struggling with home-schooling," McKella said.

"There is a huge financial strain on parents to buy specialised equipment that is necessary for their child and they have lost all of their therapies due to the pandemic whether that's occupation therapy, physiotherapy or speech and language therapy. From here, I decided to concentrate my design on the loss of occupational therapy and home-schooling. Many children with Cerebral Palsy struggle with a lack of mobility and find it difficult to hold a pen/pencil in a conventional way. This is where Saor came from."