Becoming Independent Again with this Newly Designed Spoon for Parkinson's Patients

Parkinson’s disease is a serious disorder of the central nervous system that results in the involuntary movements of the motor senses. Because of the symptoms, such as unsteady hands and twitching muscles of the body, patients are usually dependent on others in all tasks that they make. A great example of their dependence is whenever they eat. Spoon feeding themselves is a common problem due to the uncontrolled movement of their hands.

It is estimated that there are 10 million people around the world who have Parkinson’s disease, but some of these people may not even have a clue that they have it. Imagine that all of these people affected by this disease having difficulty in feeding themselves, creating spills that are left on their tables every meal. With the use of this newly designed spoon for these patients, the struggles that they encounter will be reduced.

The dynamic theory states that the movement patterns are influenced by task constraints, bridging the new idea of having weighted spoons. It is thought that the weight helps the balance of the spoon with the hand movement of the patient. The weight will be a factor for patients to have a better grip of the spoon since it would be heavier than the average spoon you'd get in a set.

Nature of Parkinson’s disease

According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease has two main categories: motor and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms are rigidity or stiffness of a limb, bradykinesia or the slowness of voluntary movement, resting tremor or the uncontrollable movement of a resting limb, and postural instability or difficulty with standing or gait. Non-motor symptoms, or dopamine-non-responsive symptoms, on the other hand include mood disorders, low blood pressure, constipation, cognitive impairment, problems sleeping, speech and swallowing problems, a lost sense of smell, unexplained pains, and drooling.

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but scientists are finding disease-modifying therapies for the solution of this disorder. However, a famous treatment is a deep brain stimulation, but this can be costly. In addition to this financial problem is when they lose their jobs for them to rely on the assistance of their families, friends, and neighbors.

The disease controls the mental state of the patient, hindering them to have interpersonal relationships with others. Researchers have been constantly discovering some treatment for this disorder and one of it is the Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon.

Related studies

It has been found that the recommendation of the therapist to use this weighted spoon affects the task constraint of the patient using utensils.

A study conducted by the Department of Occupational Therapy and Institute of Allied Health Services aimed to investigate whether the size of the spoon handle can affect the kinematic performance of the patient. [¹] In this study, there were eighteen patients with Parkinson’s disease and a control group with individuals who were 18. They were instructed to scoop water using spoons with three different sized handles (small, medium, and large). Kinematic variables, such as peak velocity, movement time, and number of movement units of arm movement are considered in the study. The researchers suggested a small to medium size handle rather than a large-sized built-up handle.

A clinical trial of the Department of Occupational Therapy and Institute of Allied Health Services (2009), conducted a study on the effect of weighted utensils on functional arm movement.[²] The study examined 18 adults with Parkinson’s disease, and each of the patients had to transfer the food using spoons with the following conditions: lightweight, control, and weighed. Kinematic variables of the patient’s arm movement were then derived and compared to the said conditions. The results concluded that lightweight utensils may help in a smoother and higher-velocity movement of the arm than a weighted one.

With the studies mentioned above, size of handles and its weight is not a determining factor that is an assurance to help people with this disease, but it can lessen the shaking of their hands that can also reduce spills. The results also suggest that weights, as they are often clinically applied, may not be beneficial for Parkinson’s disease patients with postural hand tremors. However, these studies concluded that the large-sized spoon handles and weighted spoons are not effective for a smoother and higher-velocity arm movement; thus, it is the contradictory to the main idea. The studies of weighted spoon may not be as effective as it is, but it can influence rehabilitation management of tremors in Parkinson’s disease.  With this idea, Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon is produced with improved qualities that are very convenient to the patients and the weight is not a factor anymore.

Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon Details

Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon is a new brain power and high-tech product built from hundreds of procedures. This Parkinson’s spoon has an electronic stabilizing handle and a variety of accessories that include a fork, spoon, soup spoon, and even a spork (which is the combination of a fork and spoon). The purpose of this spoon is to lessen the struggles of patients in eating and spillovers of food. In 2014, Anupam Pathak shows off the prototype of the Liftware Spoon he developed. The spoon senses a shaking hand and immediately adjusts to make the spoon balance. The attachment shakes 70 percent less than the user’s hand and is calm while in use. With this product, the patient will be independent every time they eat and the spillage of food will be reduced. Having this product, patients will no longer need the assistance of any family member in feeding themselves, instigating the satisfaction and independence on the patients’ parts.

Further improvements

Although there are helpful ways of controlling the involuntary movement of a person having Parkinson’s disease, these treatments don’t guarantee an improvement of the condition of the patient. The improvements of the studies about this disorder are still ongoing and on the verge of having the best solution.

Having a Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon for patients is helpful in a way that the patients can improve and manage to eat all by themselves without the help of caregivers. This spoon marks a start for independence  

However, it would be more effective if the spoon has a better grip for it to be easier to control and handle. The purpose of the grip is to avoid the sudden release of the spoon due to the hand movement of the patients.

Conclusions

The cure for Parkinson’s disease is not yet discovered, but there are things that can help the patients feel comfortable despite their condition. The use of Liftware Steady Parkinson’s Spoon will help patients to be more confident and be independent whenever they eat. Independent patients of Parkinson’s disease will have a sense of independence and freedom because they know that they can do an activity again without the help of others. Although it is not applicable in all activities, still this small thing can help uplift their confidence. However, in the advent of this new technology, families of these patients should still impose care management to cope with Parkinson’s symptoms in other activities.

Citations:

[¹] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18511532

[²] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19906764