Last week, a brand new series kicked off on RTÉ called Big Life Fix. It challenges a group of leading designers, engineers, computer programmers and technology experts to create inventions that will transform people’s lives.
Today was Mairead was joined by Dr. David McKeown who features in tonight's episode. David was tasked with making a prosthetic arm for teen rower Eoghan Barry from Skibbereen to help him row with the best of them.
Eoghan is a 17-year-old who rows competitively with Skibbereen Rowing Club who have produced the likes of Paul and Gary O'Donovan! Eoghan was born missing the lower part of his arm, so while he has been making do until now, he needed help to be able to row more effectively.
David is an Assistant Professor at UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and a lot of his research is in space - so he's basically a rocket scientist! He figured out that the main issue Eoghan was having was that he wasn't able to feather the oar which is very important, but impossible to do without a wrist.
David set to work designing a prosthetic arm for Eoghan and also adjusting his boat, and worked for a full year on a prosthetic that didn't exist anywhere in the world before. You can see how it all went down on Big Life Fix tonight on RTÉ1 at 9.35!
You can hear the chat in full by pressing the play button on screen.
