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Microsoft's Emma Watch Is a Game-Changer For People With Parkinson's (betanews.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Called "Emma," it is a wrist wearable that can help people suffering with Parkinson's disease. The device is named after the Parkinson's sufferer that helped Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at Microsoft Research, create the device. What exactly does it do? Well, the incurable disease causes body tremors in those inflicted, and as a result, Emma has very shaky hands. This disease makes it impossible for her to draw straight lines or write legibly. With the wearable on her wrist, however, normal writing and drawing is possible. Remarkably, how it works isn't 100 percent known. "While the wait for a cure continues, Zhang has created what she hopes could be a 'revolutionary' aid for reducing tremors. The Emma Watch uses vibrating motors -- similar to those found in mobile phones -- to distract the brain into focusing on something other than trying to control the patient's limbs. Put simply, Zhang believes Lawton's brain is at war with itself -- half is trying to move her hand, the other half is trying to stop it. The two signals battle and amplify each other, causing the tremors. The device stops that feedback loop," says Microsoft. You will want to watch this video.
Of all the things we shit on Microsoft for -- and rightly so -- Emma sounds really good and they deserve credit for it. Good on Microsoft for investing in such efforts. Now I will go back and use my real ID to criticize them for Windows 10.
I've got so much brain trauma from the repeated head desking from dealing with Microsoft products for so many years. I just can't stop trembling anymore.
Finally Microsoft is doing something to help us poor IT people cope!
Well done, Microsoft!
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
I'm not crying, you're.
I've watched the video and was wondering why this hasn't been "invented" previously? It looks like it just vibrates the arm randomly, doesn't seem to be trying to perform any counter-motions or anything.
It's base-lining. Laying in a sensory deprivation tanks causes hallucinations because there are no sensations to establish a mental baseline. This is the same thing but in a neuro-muscular sense.
love is just extroverted narcissism
Microsoft really needs to pivot away from operating systems and onto other things. Microsoft has always made excellent peripherals for example. I remember using the first Microsoft Natural keyboard, and it did wonders for my RSI at the time.
And then they do stuff like this.
Seems to me that if Microsoft spun off their Windows and Office divisions, they'd be a pretty good company.
It would be interesting to see how it works with tasks other than writing and drawing. I wonder if this would negate the need for the special spoon that was invented a few years ago. https://www.google.com/#q=spoo...
Perhaps a larger version placed at crucial nerves near the spinal cord would allow tremors to be eliminate for the entire body.
If only the main company would listen to and use the results of their Research department.
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Whelp, I'm officially an Apple fan boy...
Watching an inspiring video about helping Parkinson's sufferers, and what's the first thing I notice? The Innovation Director at Microsoft Research uses an iMac at home. https://youtu.be/k9Rm-U9havE?t=46s
And next year they're planning one with Daffy Duck.
I have a friend with Parkinson's. I'd love to purchase one of these watches. I wonder if Microsoft intends to make them available now. Will this require a 10 year study and FDA approval? Or was it a one shot for public relations?
[Insert pithy quote here]
You will want to watch this video.
Why are you waving your hand around like that?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
God damn! Who the hell is cutting onions in my office?
Ow my feels.
Fucking awesome
I can't remember the last time—if ever—a Microsoft promotional video warranted a Chariots of Fire musical swell.
"Jesus Christ (speak of the devil) I can't remember the last time we introduced a product that changed the world (for the better). And it's got our name on it. ('Me too', 'me three' echoes a pair of nearby cacti.)"
You have to forgive them, it's been a long 40 years, out in the desert, trafficking in neurotoxic juniper berries.
Sounds like it's similar in action to Deep Brain Stimulation but without the radical invasive surgery. I don't mean to belittle Zhang's achievement here but DBS has been around for 30 years, I'm a bit surprised it's taken someone this long to make this leap.
You are certainly correct that a one-trial experiment does not substantiate an effective treatment for Parkinson's.
Besides the placebo effect, besides that the degree of symptoms in any given patient can come and go, there were all manner of brain-stimulation or cell-transplant experiments that didn't transfer from the "let's try this on a patient" to the next level of clinical trial.
Great research, Microsoft! congrats to Haiyan Zhang. That said it doesn't look like the real Emma in the video has classic Parkinson, which is a lot more than hand tremor (also slurred speech, posture changes, impaired balance, slowed movements, and more). I doubt Microsoft's Emma watch will help all of these. Nonetheless, new thinking, progress!
I originally saw Emma's watch as part of the BBC 2 Series, The Big Life Fix with with Simon Reeves http://www.bbc.co.uk/programme... http://www.bbc.com/news/av/mag... My father has Parkinsons, so I am hoping a commercial version of the Emma watch will become available within the next couple of years.
Ah, but how to monetize it?
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Human language is brilliantly imprecise. It's a feature not a bug. A really big feature.