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Taunton 10-year-old invents medical device to help his little brother

Taunton Daily Gazette - 5/28/2021

May 27—TAUNTON — Taunton 10-year-old Will LeFaivre has always had a passion for math and science.

Now, those passions, combined with his desire to help people, have taken him all the way to Invention Convention Nationals — the final round of competition for this K-12 extracurricular.

Will's invention was inspired by his brother, 9-year-old Tommy, who is autistic. He said Tommy is very uncomfortable having his vital signs taken.

"He doesn't like the pressure from the blood pressure cuff or his fingers being strapped to the heart rate and blood oxygen monitor," Will said.

So Will created the VR Squared to help.

VR Squared stands for Virtual Reality Vitals Reader. It's a set of virtual reality goggles with a heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen monitor, a temperature reader and a blood pressure cuff attached.

The device is meant to distract the patient and keep them comfortable while a doctor takes their vital signs. It can play America's Funniest Home Videos or any cartoon the child likes using Bluetooth technology.

"Kids can have an easier time in the doctor's offices or hospitals when they need to have their vitals taken," Will said. "It's less stressful for patients, parents and medical staff."

The VR Squared has the finger monitors for heart rate and blood oxygen levels on top of the glasses, a temperature reader strip at the top of the goggles where they meet the forehead, and a blood pressure cuff attached so that all the vitals can be taken quickly and at one time. Bluetooth technology is used to transmit the vitals data to a computer.

But the VR Squared is not Will's first invention. This is his third year doing Invention Convention.

In second grade, he created a special nail clipper for children with sensory issues. In third grade, he created a ski sensor system that helps kids learn when they are skiing correctly.

"I like designing stuff, and I always wanted to invent stuff when I was younger," he said. "This might be good practice for when I'm an adult and can make things to help people."

This year, Will participated in the program virtually through Bennett Elementary School. The first week, the children brainstormed real-world problems they might be able to fix. The second week, they brainstormed ways they might fix those problems with an invention.

He had to do research, including checking whether there was anything similar to his design out there already. He said he couldn't find anything.

Then, Will went to work designing and building his invention while keeping a weekly log of his work.

"I really like to just try to figure out where I want to put stuff in and how I want it to look," he said.

It took two months to create the VR Squared, Will said. And there were some hiccups, like realizing he didn't want to add a vision test to the device.

"So instead of temperature, my first prototype, it had [a vision test]. But I got rid of that for two reasons," he said. "One, I realized that it really isn't a vital sign, and the other, I'd have to show a specific video, taking out the entire point of the invention to distract the patient."

For nationals, Will had to create a four-minute video without editing, which means it had to be filmed straight through. He said that was the hardest part, taking him two hours to get it right.

The prototype is just a design model, not a working model, but it's carried him all the way through the local and state level competition. Will said he's shocked and proud to have made it this far.

"We are beyond proud of him, and for the reasons why he does it," Will's mother Leigh LeFaivre said. "I think Will is a genuine soul. We joke that he's an old soul, and he's always looking out for others, including his younger brothers."

At nationals, a virtual ceremony on June 24, Will will be competing against children from all across the country. If he does well, he could win hundreds of dollars in gift cards, thousands of dollars in scholarship money, and even a patent application and patent lawyer.

Will said what he really wants to win is the patent so that his invention can be used to help children like his brother.

Will said he plans to keep doing Invention Convention and keep creating new devices. He's already decided he wants to attend MIT for college.

"I don't know what I'm gonna make next, but I know it's gonna be something to help people," he said.

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