Asst. Prof. Wang Yifan | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Chung Lau Ha, Co-I (TTSH); Wei Tech Ang, Co-I (NTU)
Competition Sponsor: Ministry of Health and National Research Foundation of Singapore
Awardee year: 2022
In Singapore, three out of every 1000 individuals aged 50 and above have Parkinson’s disease (PD). This number is expected to go up with the rapidly ageing population. Statistically, about 80% of PD patients suffer from tremor, which is manifested by unconscious shaking of the hands or arms at rest and is aggravated during emotional stress. In this proposal, we present a novel wrist brace to suppress hand tremors for PD. The brace is composed of a 3D printed fabric with variable stiffness which can be controlled by pneumatic pressure. In the soft state, the brace offers very little resistance to the daily movements of their wrist. When the embedded sensors detect shaking movements, the brace rapidly stiffens and provides additional damping to the wrist, thus suppressing the tremor. Then, the patient’s normal activity can be performed.