High school students build better wheelchair

A team of high school students from across Canada have used their summer vacation to invent a better wheelchair.

The students are attending the Shad Valley summer enrichment camp at the University of British Columbia, which this year has the theme of helping Canada's aging population.

The group, under the company name INH Technologies, developed a new braking system for wheelchairs.

"We had someone in our group who had worked with senior homes in a hospital," said Jared Valdron, a member of the team from Riverview, N.B. "And she noticed that nurses would always have to remind the patients to lock the wheelchairs before getting up."

In response, the group designed a "passive brake" mechanism. If someone in the chair uses the armrest as a support to get up, it pushes down, compresses springs and engages the brake.

Daan Maijer, the director of the integrated engineering program at UBC and co-director of the Shad Valley UBC program, said he was impressed by the invention.

He noted the students are seeking a patent and trying to build a business around delivering the braking system to the marketplace.

Valdron, who said his time at Shad Valley was empowering, is working with his new partners to improve their business plan and shop for investors.