Vibrating gloves could be game-changer for Parkinson's patients : vTools Events

IEEE.org | IEEE Xplore Digital Library | IEEE Standards | IEEE Spectrum | More Sites

Vibrating gloves could be game-changer for Parkinson's patients

#technical #parkinsons

Parkinson’s Disease affects approximately 1 million Americans, half of whom are undiagnosed. There is no cure and existing treatment effectiveness declines as the disease progresses. Recent research at Stanford University has shown promise in using specific patterns of vibration applied to the fingertips to provide a lasting reduction in symptoms without the typical side effects of medication.

This talk will cover an introduction to Parkinson’s disease, describe the Vibro-tactile Coordinated Reset (VCR) research and results obtains by Dr. Peter Tass at Stanford, and efforts by a group, of which I am part, to replicate the Stanford research to benefit our friends and family.

I will show several iterations of our hardware for the electronics, vibrating tactors, and the gloves that couple the vibration to the patient’s fingertips. This includes 3D printing of finger “cups” to hold the vibrating tactors, wired and wireless versions of the control electronics and a unique solution to obtain sub-1millisecond timing accuracy across a Bluetooth connection linking a pair of wireless VCR gloves.

Slides at: Vibro-Tactile Gloves

This will also be streamed online on GoToWebinar. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5933072930224809053