Design with a Heart rewards inventions for disabled people
The annual contest sponsored by the local branch of Handicap International proves that simple devices make a huge difference in the lives of those with limited mobility
Yoghurt pots and salon chairs
The four winners were chosen in the categories “daily life”, “work”, “leisure” and “school”. All laureates receive a voucher of €250 for home improvement chain Brico and other gifts from the competition’s partners. They also get visibility for their inventions and can be contacted by others interested in using the same device.
The school category had the youngest winner: 13-year-old Olivier Catfolis of Duffel developed an app that records conversations and translates them via speech recognition technology to written text on a screen. This way, his deaf uncle can more easily follow conversations.
Frank Genar of Hove, Antwerp province, won the work category with an electro-hydraulic hair salon chair that is adjustable in height. His wife, who is partially paralysed, can operate the chair herself from her stand-up wheelchair and thus work again as a hairdresser. Genar also won a Design with a Heart prize last year.
In the leisure category, the prize went to Michèle Rouge and her colleagues from association AP³ Plouf in Wallonia. They adjusted diving suits, often difficult for the disabled to put on, by adding extra zippers and other accoutrements.
Finally, for daily life, occupational therapist An-Sofie Vandenberghe from Leuven won with a food tray developed to hold the small containers that foods such as yoghurt often come in. Pots of different sizes fit in the anti-slip holders, which helps people with only one arm or hand to eat. Her invention also received the public prize.
Photo: Frédéric Pauwels
