Thanks to
Microsoft’s Emma Watch, for demonstrating how to counter specific diseases. Microsoft innovation designer
Haiyan Zhang learned that a graphic designer named Emma Lawton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, destroying her ability to do what she loves. In the first stage of intervention, Lawton’s brain was sent vibrations, so that her brain could focus on her right wrist. Thus, it reduced the extra signals that cause muscle tremors. The wearable is connected to a Windows 10 tablet with an app for controlling vibration speed and in this way, the vibration pattern works depending on the person. A rhythmic vibration proves effective here.
When working on her sketch projects, Lawton now wears the Emma Watch and it has become indispensable when she wants to put a pen to paper. To take the wearable to the next level, the use of sensors and artificial intelligence to detect and monitor the complex symptoms associated with the disease is being explored.
To put together a deeper piece of research on how AI and wearables can better support people with Parkinson’s to manage their symptoms and medication intake, which is still in proposal stage, would be an extension of the original Emma Watch project but could be quite an impactful piece of work.