- Title: Gyroscope gloves reduce hand tremors in Parkinson's patients
- Date: 6th September 2019
- Summary: LEEDS, ENGLAND, UK (AUGUST 21, 2019) (REUTERS) SUE WHITEHOUSE, ESSENTIAL TREMOR SUFFERER, TRYING TO THREAD A NEEDLE SUE'S HANDS SHAKING GYROGEAR RESEARCHER FITTING SUE WITH GYROGLOVES EMBROIDERY HOOP SUE WEARING GYROGLOVES SUE SUCCESSFULLY THREADING A NEEDLE WHILE WEARING GYROGLOVES VARIOUS OF SUE DOING EMBROIDERY FOR FIRST TIME IN 5 YEARS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ESSENTIAL TREMOR SUFFERER, SUE WHITEHOUSE, SAYING: "To me it's a big thing not being able to put a bit of make-up on and not to be able to put a necklace on and change my earrings. If I want to change my earrings I can't do it unless there's somebody here to help me. I just can't get them in and out. I can't paint my nails anymore, my daughter does them for me. I can't cut my nails, I can't cut my toe nails. There's all sorts of things that I can't do but this...these (GyroGloves) are going to enable me to do a bit more and keep more of my independence instead of losing it day by day." VARIOUS OF GYROGLOVE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER AND CEO OF GYROGEAR, DR. FAII ONG, SAYING: "It's striking that even at medical school we're not taught about this condition called essential tremor and yet there are millions, literally 200 million people globally living with this condition every single day of their lives. And it's fatiguing, there is stigma with it, there is a huge amount of disability associated with it and yet it is not necessarily addressed, it is not necessarily recognised or supported you see." VARIOUS OF SUE'S HANDS SHAKING WHILE SHE TRIES TO PAINT HER NAILS (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER AND CEO OF GYROGEAR, DR. FAII ONG, SAYING: "So we have an aerospace-grade gyroscope in this. It functions exactly like a top. So as a top spins it tries to stay upright. So in the same way with this the glove actually counteracts your hand tremors immediately and instantaneously. So as you shake it automatically cancels out the shakes." VARIOUS OF DR. ONG HELPING SUE PUT ON THE GLOVES VARIOUS OF SUE PAINTING HER NAILS WHILE WEARING GYROGLOVES SUE POURING AND DRINKING A GLASS OF WATER WITHOUT GYROGLOVES SUE PUTTING THE GLASS DOWN (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER AND CEO OF GYROGEAR, DR. FAII ONG, SAYING: "The beauty of this, and we've deliberately kept it as simple as possible, so when you put it on, you turn it on and that's that. It just goes." VARIOUS OF SUE POURING AND DRINKING A GLASS OF WATER WHILE WEARING GYROGLOVES SUE PUTTING THE GLASS DOWN
- Embargoed: 20th September 2019 10:35
- Keywords: GyroGlove Faii Ong Parkinson's disease hand tremour gyroscope fine motor skills
- Location: LEEDS, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LEEDS, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001AVISZFF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Gloves with built-in spinning gyroscopes are helping people with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor regain control of their hands.
Both the conditions can cause patients' hands to shake so much that everyday tasks such as eating and drinking become difficult or impossible.
"It's a big thing not being able to put a bit of make-up on and not to be able to put a necklace on and change my earrings… There's all sorts of things that I can't do," Sue Whitehouse told Reuters.
She was diagnosed with essential tremor five years ago and now needs help with any action needing fine motor skills.
GyroGlove's developer, Dr. Faii Ong, was inspired to tackle hand tremors while caring for a 103-year-old woman in hospital who was struggling to feed herself soup.
"It's striking that even at medical school we're not taught about this condition called essential tremor and yet there are millions, literally 200 million people globally living with this condition every single day of their lives," Ong said.
Mounted on the back of the hand, the gyroscope counters any tremor, smoothing out the shakes.
"It functions exactly like a (spinning) top. So as a top spins it tries to stay upright. So in the same way with this the glove actually counteracts your hand tremors immediately and instantaneously. So as you shake it automatically cancels out the shakes," Ong said.
Ong put his medical career on hold to develop the product which he hopes will be given medical approval in the US and EU next year.
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