Liftware spoon helps tremor patients to eat without spilling
Updated: Nov 28, 2014 10:39:34am
New Delhi, Nov 28 (KNN) There's good news for people with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. A spoon has been designed by Liftware that allows tremor patients to eat without spilling.
The Liftware spoon has been designed by a group of scientists and engineers in the US, working to develop new technologies to provide proactive care for people with essential tremor and Parkinson's Disease, according to official data.
The Liftware system is designed for people whose hand tremor interferes with activities of daily living (ADLs). Typically, these hand tremors are caused by a medical condition such as Essential Tremor or Parkinson Disease.
On how the system works, sensors in the Liftware handle detect a person’s tremor, and the device responds using motors to move the spoon opposite the tremor. The spoon can discern motion from hand tremor from other types of motion, allowing it to respond to just the tremor while preserving the user’s intended motion.
In contrast to braces, which force a user’s hand to be still and can cause patient discomfort, Liftware allows the patient’s hand to shake while stabilizing food in the spoon.
The group of scientists and engineers were motivated to create Lift Labs and focus on improving overall quality of life and independence, after having seen their friends and family suffering from such ailments.
The group is now joining Google and will continue to make and sell Liftware stabilizers. They hope to scale their operations and reach even more people who could benefit from using tremor-cancelling devices.
They were supported in the endeavour by Rock Health and the National Institutes of Health. (KNN/ES)
The Liftware spoon has been designed by a group of scientists and engineers in the US, working to develop new technologies to provide proactive care for people with essential tremor and Parkinson's Disease, according to official data.
The Liftware system is designed for people whose hand tremor interferes with activities of daily living (ADLs). Typically, these hand tremors are caused by a medical condition such as Essential Tremor or Parkinson Disease.
On how the system works, sensors in the Liftware handle detect a person’s tremor, and the device responds using motors to move the spoon opposite the tremor. The spoon can discern motion from hand tremor from other types of motion, allowing it to respond to just the tremor while preserving the user’s intended motion.
In contrast to braces, which force a user’s hand to be still and can cause patient discomfort, Liftware allows the patient’s hand to shake while stabilizing food in the spoon.
The group of scientists and engineers were motivated to create Lift Labs and focus on improving overall quality of life and independence, after having seen their friends and family suffering from such ailments.
The group is now joining Google and will continue to make and sell Liftware stabilizers. They hope to scale their operations and reach even more people who could benefit from using tremor-cancelling devices.
They were supported in the endeavour by Rock Health and the National Institutes of Health. (KNN/ES)
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