Microsoft Unveils a Wristwatch That Controls Parkinson’s Tremors

The typical symptoms of Parkinson's disease revolve around muscle stiffness, involuntary tremors, and shaking that the patient cannot control by any means. Because of this, patients who suffer from this disease are severely limited in the activities they can perform. Tasks that require fine motor skills, such as arts and craft, become exceedingly difficult to perform.

Though initial symptoms may appear mild, as the disease progresses, the patient will become unable to perform simple activities such as walking, eating, or even talking, since the muscles in their jaw will become tense and rigid, and the muscles of their arm will shake constantly, so using eating utensils will become an impossibility.

In order to address these symptoms, and improve the quality of life of Parkinson’s sufferers around the world, Microsoft unveiled a device in a 2017 tech convention that will help to ease their tremors, and grant them the stability necessary to perform tasks that they were not able to due to their disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting primarily the central nervous system and causing, as was mentioned above, a variety of motor symptoms that limit the subject’s ability to perform most manual tasks. The causes of the disease are unknown, though it is believed that there are a number of genetic and environmental factors that can trigger its onset.

The symptoms, however, are another story. Studies and research have uncovered that the symptoms are caused by the progressive destruction of dopaminergic brain cells located in the substantia nigra. These cells are then replaced by Lewy bodies, leading to a severe shortage of the vital neurotransmitter. The absence of this substance will, in turn, contribute towards causing the symptoms of the disease, which will progressively worsen as more and more dopaminergic cells are destroyed by the disease.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Parkinson’s. Instead, there are measures that can be followed to slow the progression of the disease and ensure the quality of life of the patient for as long as possible.

This disease is usually developed late in someone's life, which can further complicate matters, as the instability caused by the tremors may lead to falling injuries in older individuals. Devices like the one developed by Microsoft and unveiled last year is one of many measures that are currently being researched and which can be used to improve the patient’s quality of life and give them back some of their capacity to fend for themselves.

The wristwatch that can change the game

The device, which is meant to be used as a wristwatch, was initially developed by two British Microsoft Research employees named Haiyan Zhang and Nicolas Villa. The two created the tremor-interrupting device for a BBC documentary titled ‘The Big Life Fix’. After the creation of the solution, the researchers then teamed up with graphic designer Emma Lawton, who is also a Parkinson’s Patient, in order to develop a wearable presentation in which to implement the solution. Unlike other Parkinson's patients, Lawton was diagnosed with the disease at a younger age, and at the time of the video, she was just 29 years old.

The device first consisted of a PCB board connected via wires to several small coin motors. These motors would then be taped to a wrist strap and, the board would be programmed to create vibrations in opposition to Parkinson’s tremors. The resulting counter-vibrations would disrupt the feedback loop between the hand and the brain, and grant temporary stability to whichever hand the device is worn in.

Another element of the device is the use of advanced AI technology to help recognize and adjust to the shakes and tremors produced by the patient’s disease. This AI is programmed to also detect stiffness and instability, as well as other symptoms pertaining to the disease.

According to Zhang, once the symptoms are identified and quantified, the logical step would be the creation of an opposite force to counteract the patient’s symptoms, and which could help to counteract the effects of the disease. The AI element is pivotal to the real-time adjustments that the vibrating motors must make to accommodate to small changes in the patient’s shakes and tremors.

After months of grueling work and research, the team came up with a wristwatch presentation that took the initial design and shrunk it so that it could fit in a small container while still producing the vibrations. The wristwatch itself was designed by Emma, and the resulting prototype was named after her, in honor of her struggles against the disease that had robbed her of the ability to sketch and write. The following video was the one shown in the technology convention in which the solution was unveiled, which showed Emma trying to draw a rectangle without the device, and then trying again after the prototype was finished and a wearable solution was developed.

After the prototype was presented, and the lights went up once again, Emma and Zhang were invited onto the stage to give a speech and personally demonstrate the effects that this prototype, even in its early stages of development, had on the former. Lawton also remarked that even though developers mostly spent their time behind a computer, seemingly creating digital solutions to other problems, that they can also have a huge impact on physical, tangible problems such as the ones that Parkinson’s causes in their patients.

However, the watch still remains a prototype, yet a Microsoft spokesperson stated that the company is making arrangements with a neuroscience team in order to undertake small clinical trials with a group of Parkinson’s patients. Nevertheless, Lawton has firmly stated that this is not a permanent solution. This device is meant to help the most amount of the 10 million individuals around the world that are suffering from Parkinson’s to partially recover the stability in their hands in order to perform tasks that were otherwise impossible in the past. This is in hopes of allowing people around the world who are struggling with the disease to obtain solace and respite from its symptoms through the use of the Emma device.

To learn more about Emma Lawton and this wristwatch by Microsoft, check out their story on BBC called "This invention helped me write again."