PD Technology

During the recent Apple product update announcements, something caught my eye and might be of interest to others with Parkinson's – Fall Detection. This watch can now detect if you have fallen and, in reaction, call 911 and an emergency contact if needed. Here is how it works ...

Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers interesting possibilities for Parkinson's disease therapy. University of Southern California engineers are teaming with researchers and VR game designers to help Parkinson’s patients walk steadily with confidence, creating a VR application called Overcome. Traditional physiotherapy is centered around strength training, stretching, and movement practice, usually in a clinic setting. However, studies have shown that activity performed in the context of the environment, like say, stepping over an obstacle, aids long-term retention in motor skills far more than simply being told to lift one’s foot. This game, in an immersive virtual reality setting, offers the player ...

This Week's Highlights: Dog Days of Summer; if Parkinson's starts in the gut, what does this mean; getting the most from your remaining dopamine neurons; international PD soccer tournament; PD smartwatch is too retro for its own good; marijuana and pain; forget about hot chilis; research briefs; inspiring people with PD; Improv to Improve PD; and much more ...

Weekly Update - Highlights include: Mayo Clinic researchers explore the relationship between low levels of Vitamin B-12 and Parkinson’s; appendix removal might or might not affect Parkinson’s risk; monkey butt research finds PD related proteins linked to inflammation; impulse control disorders and PD; Pharmaceutical News from the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology; technology targets freezing of gait; creating your own placebo effect; inspiring people with Parkinson's talk boxing, DBS and poetry; and more ...

A Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) student project to help a local military veteran has become a business designed to help patients with Parkinson’s disease overcome a debilitating and dangerous symptom known as “freezing of gait.” De Oro Devices, based in San Luis Obispo, California, recently edged out six other startups for a $100,000 investment during the second annual Central Coast Angel Conference Pitch Competition held in April by the university. While working on the project as part of the Quality of Life Plus (QL+) program, which pairs the challenges of wounded vets with student projects, student Sidney Collin ...

Parkinson’s Disease features this week: World Parkinson’s Day awareness around the globe; boxing helps a husband get his wife back from Parkinson’s grip; bionic assistance for raising a middle finger as a PD salute; a young onset PD perspective on bucket lists; virtual reality training for balance; detecting early stage Parkinson’s with a selfie (and not just because the camera is shaking); people with Parkinson’s in the UK are tired of people thinking they are drunk; and more. Thursday, April 11 was World Parkinson’s Day 2019, a day on which various organizations try to draw public awareness to issues surrounding ...

This intriguing new device could inspire a new World Parkinson’s Day tradition. In addition to helping diagnose Parkinson’s, the BiRD (Bionics Institute Rigidity Device) offers a therapeutic benefit to patients by bionically assisting them in defiantly raising their middle finger at Parkinson’s Disease. Researchers from Bionics Institute in Melbourne Australia have developed a small, palm-worn device to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease—a condition which is otherwise difficult to identify. The BiRD attaches to the patient's hand via Velcro straps and employs a motor to repeatedly bend the patient’s middle finger for 30 seconds. Integrated sensors measure the force required to bend ...

Could Parkinson's Disease be detected by a selfie? This seems like a rather cruel trick to me, as it can be quite a challenge to take a selfie when you have Parkinson's! Wired Health is an annual conference at The Francis Crick Institute in London which focuses on innovation in healthcare technology. The startup pitch winner at this year's conference was Erin Smith, founder of FacePrint, an automated screening and monitoring tool that claims to be able to detect Parkinson’s Disease using early-stage facial expression indicators. Requiring only a camera equipped smartphone, FacePrint can detect early stages of Parkinson’s Disease ...

This is a recap of the most interesting news and discussions related to Parkinson’s Disease this past week. We start by looking ahead to Parkinson's Disease Awareness which starts on Monday by revisiting the funniest (and most relatable) Parkinson's Disease awareness video of all time. We then realize that we may be personally too aware of PD, so we take a look at awareness months for other diseases and health issues. Next up we try to avoid the big gun debate while reporting on an intriguing case study of "gun therapy" for Parkinson's; a hip-hop dance demonstration inspires one of ...

Some ideas take time to find their direction. In 2010, Jamie O’Neil, Communication Studies professor at Canisius College in Buffalo (New York) developed a project that he called Skippisox. These were socks that you wear and they would make noise. Another professor at Canisius College, Bill Sack, was working with using robotics to create music. Together, they developed Electroskip, which is is a wearable technology that attaches to shoes and detects the amount of pressure that the wearer puts on their heels or toes. The sensors use a wireless data transmitter to  send this information to a computer, which generates audio feedback ...

Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who's the shakiest of them all? Potentially interesting tech being developed in Adelaide, Australia...a mirror that can assess the severity of symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease in the home. The mirror, called Lookinglass, has a display that is visible through the mirror, which asks the user to complete a set of evaluation exercises based on standardized tests used to assess Parkinson's Disease severity. The key technology is the camera vision system that uses AI to track movement and provides an automated assessment that is then shared with health professionals. It's a little creepy to think that ...

Resonate Forward LLC, has received a $440,000 grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to test a wearable device, called VibeForward, that uses vibration therapy to reduce symptoms of freezing of gait in patients with Parkinson’s Disease. This funding is part of a Fox Foundation initiative launched in 2018 to evaluate non-pharmacological interventions that have the potential to significantly improve the daily lives of people with Parkinson’s, particularly related to the treatment of gait and balance. Injuries from falls severely impact the quality of life for people with Parkinson's Disease, as evidenced by Michael J. Fox's personal ...

Last week, Honda announced today that they were awarded a grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) to research the safety and potential positive impact that Honda's Walking Assist Device could have in helping people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Honda has partnered with Ohio State University conduct a Phase II randomized controlled trial to study the impact of an eight week intervention using the Walking Assist Device to improve mobility in people with PD. Press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honda-rd-americas-collaborates-with-the-ohio-state-university-and-the-michael-j-fox-foundation-to-research-walking-assist-device-efficacy-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease-300789381.html Clinical trial details: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03751371 “Honda Walking Assist” is a training device that efficiently supports walking which is based on the inverted pendulum ...