‘I don’t like being confined’: Sask. A man using 3D printing to help disabled people perform everyday tasks

Nicolas Wagen is using 3D printing to help people with disabilities live full lives.

He was a computer science student in 2020 when he suffered a brain injury in a car accident. He has limited use of his right side and has memory problems.

“I spent a very long time in rehab,” he said in an interview at his home in Warman, just north of Saskatoon. “I don’t remember much about that time, and I was in outpatient therapy for a while, but after all the treatment, I got back to trying to live with a significant disability.”

Wagen found himself frustrated with some of the tasks that many disabled people consider routine – such as cutting their nails and reading books. They also found that there weren’t always easily accessible tools for those tasks.

“A lot of assistive technology exists, but it exists with warnings about using this base program or using this exact software,” he said.

“It’s very limited in scope. And I don’t like being limited.”

They learned about Makers Making Change, a program run by the Neil Squire Society, a non-profit that uses technology to help people with disabilities. Makers Making Change connects makers with people with disabilities who need adaptive technology.

Wagan saw it provide grants for people to purchase 3D printers to make devices.

“I thought, ‘I want to create assistive technology.’ So I applied and I was accepted,” he said.

At first, Wagon relied on plans provided by Makers Making Change. The first thing he printed was a stand in which he could hold a set of nail clippers, making them easier to use with his right hand, which lacked dexterity.

“It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it without this specific thing. And it was great to have that specific thing, because it increased my independence,” he said. “I was able to do it 100 percent on my own, which was empowering.”

Wagen wanted to move forward by designing the equipment himself. He acquired some 3D modeling software and after learning a bit, started creating his own designs.

His first creation was a modification of an existing tool that helps people with double vision focus on specific lines of text. It didn’t work very well, but he wasn’t discouraged.

He has worked to design and print a variety of tools, from an adapter that allows him to play the Nintendo Switch with one hand, to one for people who aren’t able to hold cards.

He emphasized that such tools are still important for the less important tasks of life.

“Just because you have different levels of ability doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to enjoy life,” he said. “You have to be able to play cards.”

A 2022 Statistics Canada survey found that 32.7 per cent of people with disabilities had unmet needs for help with everyday activities.

These activities range from household chores and personal hygiene to preparing food and taking care of personal finances.

Makers Making Change says on its website that it aims to help bridge that gap with DIY assistive technology – community-built devices made by volunteer makers.

Wagen’s latest project is an adapter that will make it easier to use door handles for a woman whose arthritis prevents her from holding a regular door handle.

He said he’s looking for more Saskatchewan people to help and wants to get the word out.

“I have more things to work on than I have to work on,” he said.

“I’m looking for people to reach out to me and I’ll work with you.”

He can be contacted by email at nicolasvaagen@gmail.com.