A STUDENT from Offaly has been shortlisted for a major international design award.

Noel Joyce, a 29-year-old studying design at Carlow Institute of Technology, is one of 20 finalists for the annual James Dyson design award, having been selected from more than 400 entrants.

Mr Joyce has developed a high-tech braking system for wheelchairs called Ergostop, which uses hydraulics to minimise the effort needed when applying brakes, and then keeps the wheelchair stationary. He has spent the past two years working on prototypes, having found the braking system on his own wheelchair awkward to use. Mr Joyce has been confined to a wheelchair since a mountain biking accident in 2005 which left him paralysed from the chest down and prematurely ended his career in the Defence Forces.

The Ergostop brake works by applying hydraulic force, displacing liquid into canisters and using the wheelchair tyres as a braking surface. The system is operated by a simple lever mechanism. The brake can be fitted to any wheelchair and is designed for people with limited movement.

“It requires no dexterity to operate the brake. It’s intuitive to use. When the person is in the wheelchair, they don’t have to think about what they’re doing.”

The lever that operates the brake can be put at either side of the chair so that, for example, a stroke victim with paralysis on one side can use it. The lever can also be mounted on the wheelchair handle, making it suitable for porters pushing hospital patients.

Being confined to a wheelchair has given Mr Joyce a “different perspective” on design.

“A lot of products for the home can be designed for all rather than just for the disabled. Having been able-bodied, I can understand how one design might affect the other group. This was never a project in college – it was something for myself and other wheelchair users,” he said.

Mr Joyce has been working to finalise and test the design with engineers at Pellere Technologies, a sister company of Stira, the Galway-based maker of folding attic stairs. The system has been through 25 prototypes. “We have every function working that we want and now it’s just about a few ergonomic tweaks.” The design has already won the Irish People’s Choice award, which included €2,500 in prizemoney. The Dyson award is an international design award run by James Dyson’s charitable trust. The winner will be announced next Monday.