Public Funding for Enayball Ltd

A collaboration between therapy centre and special school, Pace, and assistive technology product development company, Enayball, with material contributions from Imperial College London. This project is focused on implementing a human-centered, system aware design approach to significantly improve the outcomes and opportunities for children with complex physical needs. The project will progress ideas resulting in a functional prototype wheelchair simulator. The motivation that inspired this project is to empower children with complex physical disabilities to improve their motor skills, mobility and movement so that they can achieve more independence. Our product will enable children to improve access to play, communication, productivity and control in their environment. Access to assistive technology for children with disabilities is often the first step for childhood development, access to education, participation in sports and civic life, and getting ready for employment. Children with disabilities have additional challenges due to their growth, which require much more frequent adjustments or replacements of their assistive products." Taken from the WHO Global Report on Assistive Technology.

Individuals with disabilities unable to use their arms or legs often cannot participate in day-to-day activities. As well as limiting their access to opportunities, this adds unnecessary challenges to their everyday life, increasing their reliance on carers, friends and family. Tasks like typing, answering the phone, pressing buttons (such as to cross roads), turning pages and drawing are fundamental ADL. In the UK, there are over 970,000 people living with conditions including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, paralysis and limb amputation prevent them from participating independently in these activities. Without use of their limbs, people often default to using their mouths to interact with the world. Current solutions have limited functionality and do not meet their needs in terms of user experience and desirability. Wooden items such as paintbrushes degrade quickly and become hotbeds for bacteria. Devices such as smart pens/pencils leach chemicals into the mouth and can damage teeth. Ringing a doorbell or pressing the button at a pelican crossing is near impossible or requires the individual to use their nose. Independence is limited. Enayball is a UK SME focused on improving the everyday lives of people with disabilities in the UK. We are tackling inequality one solution at a time. We have an existing product in this space; however, we have identified the need for a suite of mouth tools/oral prosthetics to allow people with disabilities to live more independently. We want to explore designing a multifunctional suite of oral prosthetics, led by consumer demand. The purpose of this project is to engage with future users, establish their needs and wants, and create designs which meet both, to facilitate access to everyday activities. The outcomes of this project will include: 1. Design outlines for a suite of assistive mouth tools 2. Future R&D plan, including health and safety and hygiene considerations 3. Business model designs to establish a viable commercial plan

Individuals with disabilities unable to use their arms or legs often cannot participate in day-to-day activities. As well as limiting their access to opportunities, this adds unnecessary challenges to their everyday life, increasing their reliance on carers, friends and family. Tasks like typing, answering the phone, pressing buttons (such as to cross roads), turning pages and drawing are fundamental ADL. In the UK, there are over 970,000 people living with conditions including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, paralysis and limb amputation prevent them from participating independently in these activities. Without use of their limbs, people often default to using their mouths to interact with the world. Current solutions have limited functionality and do not meet their needs in terms of user experience and desirability. Wooden items such as paintbrushes degrade quickly and become hotbeds for bacteria. Devices such as smart pens/pencils leach chemicals into the mouth and can damage teeth. Ringing a doorbell or pressing the button at a pelican crossing is near impossible or requires the individual to use their nose. Independence is limited. Enayball is a UK SME focused on improving the everyday lives of people with disabilities in the UK. We are tackling inequality one solution at a time. We have an existing product in this space; however, we have identified the need for a suite of mouth tools/oral prosthetics to allow people with disabilities to live more independently. We want to explore designing a multifunctional suite of oral prosthetics, led by consumer demand. The purpose of this project is to engage with future users, establish their needs and wants, and create designs which meet both, to facilitate access to everyday activities. The outcomes of this project will include: 1. Design outlines for a suite of assistive mouth tools 2. Future R&D plan, including health and safety and hygiene considerations 3. Business model designs to establish a viable commercial plan