A glue-gun base became an invaluable welding tool, a pool ladder became a support stand and a wooden disc became new hope for disabled cowboys.
Those are just a few examples of the creative responses 25 Touro University students seeking master’s degrees in occupational therapy came up with when charged to invent a product to improve a disabled person’s quality of life.
The challenge – the final project in an assistive technology class that marks the halfway point of their two years of study – gave students the chance to blend life experience with their professional training.
Student Pamela Morales designed a welding tool for her brother, Rick Boyer, who teaches welding at Southeast Career and Technical Academy.
Boyer’s hand was severed in an automobile accident in 1982, and while doctors were able to reattach it, he has a limited range of motion.
The welding rod gun Morales designed allows her brother to squeeze a large handle that slowly feeds the rod into the weld, instead of having to put down his tools and manually feed the rod into the weld – something he had to do more than 30 times with each rod previously.
Continue Reading: “Students’ Inventions Help The Disabled”
Photo by Las Vegas Sun.