Experience the World Through the Hands of a Parkinson’s Sufferer

There is nothing more mind-opening than having a first-person experience of a particular neurological condition. A group of alumni at Royal Holloway, University of London, has developed a technology that puts us in the shoes of people with Young-Onset Parkinson’s disease.

The wearable technology, Transport, will help doctors and carers empathise with Parkinson’s sufferers by experiencing simulations of hand tremors, dizziness and speech problems.The technology puts you in the shoes of a fictionalised sufferer of Young-Onset Parkinson’s. As you hold a screen in front of your hand, you will be able to see the tremors that patients experience daily descend on your hand as you carry out everyday tasks.

Members of the public had a chance to try out the technology at a Science Museum’s event in London on 4 November. Guests were able to pretend to be ‘Andrew’, a patient with Parkinson’s disease, as he goes up to give a speech at a wedding but the hand holding his notes won’t stop trembling.

Transport uses a low-cost Raspberry Pi computer system. The development was done in collaboration with Professor Narender Ramnani, a neuroscience specialist from Royal Holloway, along with carers, researchers, and patients from Parkinson’s UK.

The technology will be tested with BSc Psychology students at Royal Holloway and carers at Parkinson’s UK to see how this will improve the quality of care given to patients. Since there are currently no cures for Young-Onset Parkinson’s, which affects people under the age of 50, the level of care given to patients is extremely important to their quality of life.