Achievements:

• Design Council Spark 2019, Winner (£65,000 Seed funding)
• China Academy of Art Design Intelligence Award 2020, Honorable Mention
• Engineering Talent Awards Best Innovation of the Year 2020, Short list

Role: Sole Founder

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Project overview

stablspoon is an award-winning stabilising spoon for people with hand tremors. The project is currently sponsored by both the Design Council and Alzheimer’s Society, with an anticipated release date of early 2024. Unlike competitor products which use complex electronic systems, stablspoon is fully mechanical allowing it to cost under £50 rather than over £200. Our interviewees complained about the embarrassment associated with using conventional bulky and white eating aids, leading us to develop an aesthetically pleasing product that people want, not just need.

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The Problem (And Our Inspiration)

Meet Ben, the inspiration behind stablspoon.

The project was inspired by a family friend called Ben who has a hand tremor rendering most day-to-day tasks difficult, with eating being exceptionally challenging. I wanted to help him but was shocked to see that existing assistive aids cost over £200, simply unaffordable to the people who need them most. I knew a more accessible solution was possible so embarked on my mission to remove the frustration from eating with a hand tremor.

Ben is not alone with up to 1 in 25 people worldwide having a tremor and eating being an anecdotal problem.

“[I want] something that looks ‘normal’ … helps us just blend into the crowd … I feel a lot of disability aids are clunky or large” - Interviewee with Essential Tremor

While interviewing people with hand tremors, we realised that existing specialised spoons were not only too costly but also embarrassing to use. To make stablspoon truly accessible, being affordable was not enough, it had to be aesthetically pleasing.

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Development

The project started as my third-year Mechanical Engineering dissertation at the University of Warwick. By the end of the project, I had developed a prototype that cost less than £5 to manufacture but demonstrated a 68% reduction in tremor amplitude.

The project progressed beyond university and further prototype iterations were made.

I later applied to the Design Council Spark accelerator who were looking for designs that aid with independent living. stablspoon left the accelerator with a £60,000 investment and the project has since transitioned into a start-up.

I am currently collaborating with Clive Goodwin, Ex Creative Director at Samsung Design Europe, to bring the product to market. We continuously work alongside charities, health specialists, and people with hand tremors to ensure that stablspoon will be perfect for its customers.

We have a varied team of user testers who try our prototypes and shape our future development.

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