[1] In the 1960s Degen worked as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator with Herbert Leupin, Celestino Piatti, and Fritz Bühler at the Atelier Eidenbenz in Switzerland.
After living in Brazil, Peru, Hawaii, Bali, and his return to New York at the end of 1988, Degen moved back to Liestal near Basel in 1990.
In the mid-1980s, while hospitalized for a spinal disc herniation, Degan suffered from chronic constipation and the helplessness of being forced to lie on his back.
While still bedridden, Degan produced initial drawings which six years later led to the first ROMA Birth Wheel.
The device allows women in labor to achieve an upright, natural position for delivery of the child.