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Help For Those With Shaky Hands
maotx writes "IBM has developed an adjustible mouse adapter that compensates for the shakes of patients with hand tumors and other causes of uncontrollable shaking. According to the International Essential Tremor Foundation, in the US alone nearly 10 million people are affected by essential tremor, the most common form of hand tremors. This adapter will plug in between the mouse and computer and is compatible with existing mice. No word on which port is supported (ps/2, usb, etc). More info here, here, and here. It is expected that IBM will sell the adapter for under $100 USD."
It is about time that somebody entered this market. I suppose that because age is a risk factor for essential tremor, the need for such a device is only going to increase given the age group that has now become completely dependent upon computers. Most folks I have known with essential tremor (and patients of mine when I was in the clinical side of things) were old enough that they did not routinely use computers. For those that did, keyboarding did not prove as much a problem as using the mouse which requires fine motor skills that often enhance the tremors. Trackballs helped these folks a bit more, but I really would like to see how these compensatory mice work for these patients.
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Not sure why I bother submitting corrections anymore to articles in "The mysterious future", but TFA is clearly talking about hand tremor, not "hand tumors".
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According to the International Essential Tremor Foundation, in the US alone nearly 10 million people are affected by essential tremor, the most common form of hand tremors.
Yeah....from using a mouse all day.
I Want To Believe
You'd think you'd be able to smooth out mouse input in software. I admit, the platform independant aspect is nice, but still...
I wonder what kind of filtering they do for "inadvertant clicks"? Clicks associated with mouse movement? Triple clicks?
It's just a hardware adapter, it can't see anything more than your mouse driver can see. Why can't we just write something like this for Windows or Linux? Seems like these companies want to sell $100 hardware device rather than let people download a $10 software package.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Another semi-obvious possible use would be to utilize similar technology to make operating a mouse on a train (or other bumpy ride) less error-prone.
Here's a photo of the device, and some more info. The price is $99 USD.
My father's hands shake some due to essential tremors, and he uses a trackball to overcome this. With a trackball he can position the cursor where he wants and then take his thumb off the ball while he clicks so he's sure to click the right spot. His hands aren't that bad though, so I'm not sure how this would work for someone with really shaky hands.
How are you supposed to control the software or
even install the software? Right, you use the mouse.
Oh, wait...
This device comes with a big fat knob and 3 tall
switches. The worst trouble will be getting the
plug connected.
I have an essential tremor, albeit a mild one. It only manifests itself severely when my muscles are tensed, like making a tight fist. Most of this time it's not a problem, but I have days when my hands are a little bit shaky and I'm prone to stray clicks. Accidentally closing a window is seriously annoying.
Tremors suck. People who have severe tremors need all the help they can get. I know someone with a severe tremor, and she has to put up with a lot of stares and sometimes hostility. Once a nurse yelled at her to HOLD STILL! while trying to take a blood sample, as if she were doing it on purpose just to piss the nurse off. Of course, the stress of that situation only made it worse.
What would really be nice would be bowls, glasses, and spoons that stay level so someone with a shaky hand could drink a martini or have some soup without spilling. Right now all they have are weighted utensils, which suck.
BTW, age is a factor, but essential tremors can happen at any age. I'm 40, and I've had this tremor for 20 years or so. Fortunately, it hasn't gotten worse.