The pair of gloves will be the savior of Parkinson's patients

A hand-worn device promises to help stabilize hand tremors by using a long-standing technology - gyroscope.

As a 24-year-old medical student in London, Faii Ong was tasked with taking care of a 103-year-old patient suffering from Parkinson's disease, a neurasthenia that made it difficult for patients to move. Easy. After seeing how difficult it was for her to eat a bowl of soup, Ong asked a nurse what could be done to help her. "Nothing , " he answered bluntly.

Faii Ong.

Ong, now 26, cannot accept that answer. He began looking for a solution to overcome the trembling symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a disease in which one in every 500 people, without the use of drugs but through physical therapy. After examining the availability of rubber bands, weights, springs, hydraulic pumps, or even flexible robots, Ong finally chose a very simple solution, which he found from toys. from childhood." Mechanical gyroscope is like those toy spins: they are always looking for ways to stand upright by preserving the momentum of momentum," he explained.

"My idea is to use the gyroscope to immediately balance the movements of the hand, thereby minimizing the shaking of the wearer."

GyroGlove sketch.

Along with a few other students from the University of London, Ong embarked on a study at the lab to run a series of tests. A prototype was born early, with the name GyroGlove , showing that he was on the right track. Reports from patients using GyroGlove gloves , which Ong said were the first hand-worn treatment for shivering , said that their hands were like in a thick layer of bile, every The motion was unobstructed but still slowed down a bit. With machine tests, Ong's team showed that the glove reduced 90% of vibration.

GyroGlove's design is very simple. It uses a very small self-adjusting gyroscope, placed on the back of the hand, inside a protective cover attached to the material that makes up the glove. When the device is turned on, the battery-powered gyroscope starts working. It is oriented with a progressive hinge and a rotating disc, both controlled by a small circuit board, thereby repelling the wearer's vibrations by balancing itself.

While the first prototypes still needed size and noise reduction, Alison McGregor, professor of musculoskeletal dynamics at the Royal University, who led Ong's team, said the device "contains great promises and can strongly affect the quality of life of users". Helen Matthews at Cure Parkinson's Trust fund also agrees: "GyroGlove will make everyday things like computer use, writing, cooking, and driving possible for patients."

First prototype with two gyroscopes.

In 2014, Ong's company, GyroGear, reached the final of OneStart, the world's largest biotechnology competition. Last year, his team was also named the F Factor champion, Europe's biggest technology competition. The 10,000 pound prize has been used to continue studying and developing GyroGlove.

He hopes that before being commercialized, "Gyroscope must be perfectly balanced under all velocities," Ong explained. "Simply put, they must be able to function smoothly and without errors at thousands of times per minute, this is really an important challenge."

Ong hopes the glove will start in the UK for around £ 400 to $ 600. He also hopes that this device can also be applied in professional environments when users need to minimize hand vibrations, such as surgery, photography, or even sports.

For people with Parkinson's, this device really gave them new hopes, says Sarah Webb, founder of London's Parkinson's Network of Young People."GyroScope is an interesting and completely different thing, we can wear it and feel immediate benefits and is what makes our life easier and can completely return to life. normal".