Providing proper care for patients with debilitating conditions often means putting yourself in their shoes to understand the challenges they face. Some diseases are more difficult than others to relate to, since many symptoms are uniquely experienced only by the sufferers. Parkinson’s is one such malady, but now a theater company in England, with the help of a neuroscientist at Royal Holloway, University of London, has developed a system that can actually simulate many aspects of this terrible disease.
Specifically developed to mimic Young-Onset Parkinson’s, the version of the sickness that strikes people under age 50, the Transports project involves a tablet computer and a wrist-worn vibrating bracelet. The tablet lets you view the world through the eyes of someone with Parkinson’s, including having dizziness, and it’ll even garble the sound of your speech a bit to get an idea what that feels like. The vibrating bracelet makes the hand shake at 6 Hertz, emulating what tremors feel like.
University of Royal Holloway London: New technology allows medical professionals to step into their patients’ shoes…
