Design and fabrication of a novel passive hand tremor attenuator

J Med Eng Technol. 2021 Nov;45(8):597-605. doi: 10.1080/03091902.2021.1936673. Epub 2021 Jul 21.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is most highly recognised by tremors of the hands that occur in those afflicted with the disease. Though the symptoms of Parkinson's disease involving motor function begin with very slight tremors of the hands, they further develop into issues such as difficulty swallowing, severe postural problems and extremely limited mobility. In this study, a method of reducing these tremors that appear during the early stages of the disease is developed by creating a wearable passive device that reduces vibrations of the hand and arm through the use of magnetic actuators. The proposed wearable technology has surpassed other known alternatives in selected testing scenarios while possessing a light weight of only 120 grams.

Keywords: Vibration isolator; magnetic spring; parkinson’s tremor; tremor attenuator; vibration absorber.

MeSH terms

  • Hand
  • Humans
  • Parkinson Disease*
  • Tremor / therapy
  • Vibration
  • Wearable Electronic Devices*