Chula medical researchers have developed lightweight Parkinson's gloves that can automatically reduce tremors, allowing Parkinson's Disease patients to enjoy social life and reducing side effects from medication and risk from brain surgery.
The current method of treating Parkinson's is taking a cocktail of medications, which is mostly unable to reduce all the tremors. Some patients whose tremors are especially strong may need brain surgery.
This conundrum has inspired a team of researchers at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, led by Prof. Dr. Roongroj Bhidayasiri and Asst. Prof. Onanong Phokaewvarangkul, Ph.D. to research and develop the prototype of "tremor-reducing Parkinson's gloves" since 2014. The product received a patent under the name portable tremor measuring and reducing device using electrical muscle stimulation in January 2017.
The team has now succeeded in developing the fifth generation tremor-reducing Parkinson's gloves which are lightweight, easy to wear, and effective, not to mention cheaper than similar imported device.
Currently, there are over 10 million PD patients around the world and approximately 150,000 patients in Thailand. It is estimated that for every 100 elderly people (aged 60 and over), there is one with Parkinson's disease!
