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The “mad scientist” of adapted technology, Mark Felling, engineer, patented inventor and founder of the former adapted gear site Broadened Horizons, is a quadriplegic on a mission. Ever since crashing his experimental plane, he’s been determined to use his engineering skills to make his life, and other’s like his, easier.
Several life-changing technologies for people with disabilities have been invented by Mark, and he continues to create more each year. From a powered tenodesis hand splint he calls the “Power Grip” to the earliest adapted video game equipment ever made, this is Mark Felling, the man who never stops dreaming.
Why He’s Fearless
It takes a fearless man to be a great scientist, and Mark was fearless long before his injury. Growing up on a dairy farm in Albany, Minnesota, Mark was always interested in how things worked. After high school, he wanted to study electrical engineering and did so at North Dakota State University, loving every moment of it.
He also studied international business at NDU. International travel and languages were and still are another thing Mark lives for. For this degree, he studied in Mexico, which is where he became fluent in Spanish. And after receiving his BAs, he attended Regis University to get his MBA. During his studies, this travelaholic went to Russia to study, focusing on the Russian language and culture.
But a year after returning home from Moscow, while flying a experimental plane along the Minnesota River Valley, Mark’s life was forever altered when his plane crashed after an engine failure upon takeoff. Instead of crashing into the water which is a big no-no in emergency landings (you could pass out and drown), Mark instead crashed into the trees alongside the river, flipping his plane and breaking his C4-5 vertebrae on impact.
Right away living life as a quad, Mark started thinking about tools that would make his life easier. While he was in occupational therapy, he had the idea to add a motor to a tenodesis splint so someone of his level of injury could use it, and not only did his idea work, he created it, calling it the Power Grip.
His ran the site Broadened Horizons for many years, where it became one of the biggest adaptive tool sellers online, and it attracted many newly injured people. Mark also invented universal adapted video game controllers, made for those with limited arm/finger movement.
To use the phone independently, Mark also created Vocalized, a tool that lets individuals with no arm movement to use any phone with their voice. Mark also created a great sling – the Comfort Carrier – for transferring people into airplanes or for any other awkward transfers.
What’s Next?
Mark is now married and living in Florida. After closing down Broadened Horizons, he founded the nonprofit Inclusive, where they give accessible adventures scholarships and accessible technology to people with disabilities to help them live more independently.
Videos
– Mark Felling Interview with WCCO/CBS
– Mark Felling Interview for Assistive Technology Oral History Project
– Mark becomes attraction at Jama Mazid Mosque Delhi, India
ideas@spinalpedia.com
