Individuals with Parkinson’s and other tremor conditions lose the ability to manage basic tasks that involve gripping, pouring, and eating due to persistent shaking of their hands. Google introduced Liftware, an amazing spoon that is able to counteract the hand’s shaking for eating, but this is limited to a single task.
This prototype concept has a gyroscope strapped to the hand
Instead of focusing on a single task, GyroGear is focusing on the hand itself. They’ve added a small, yet powerful gyroscope to the back of the glove to increase stability.
Gyroscopes are spinning discs. Inspired by bleeding edge aerospace technology, but no more different than children’s toy tops. Gyroscopes do their utmost to stay upright – they conserve angular momentum. These spinning discs thus counter any input of force instantaneously and proportionally.
GyroGlove – GyroGear
The GyroGlove has a small gyroscope attached to the back of the hand.
GyroGlove was built by Faii Ong after caring for an elderly patient with Parkinson’s while a medical student in London. Ong was told there was nothing that could be done for the patient, which was not an adequate answer for the young student. The glove is still under development, but is showing great promise.
Among Parkinson’s sufferers, the device has generated a significant amount of hope, according to Sarah Webb, founder of the South London Younger Parkinson’s Network. “People with Parkinson’s take a cocktail of drugs daily, which over time won’t be so effective,” she says. “The GyroGlove is an exciting and a completely different concept: something we can wear, something we can feel the benefits of immediately and something which will make our lives easier and allow us to get on with our daily lives.”
Hope in a Glove for Parkinson’s Patients MIT Technology Review
