Emma Watch lets people with Parkinson´s write again

Emma Lawton, graphic arts designer, heard she had Parkinson´s when she was 29. It is unacceptable for a designer to not be able to write even your own name. Through the BBC programme The Big Life Fix Emma was introduced to Haiyan Zhang, Research Innovation Director at Microsoft. Zhang took on the challenge to find a way for Emma to write again without being hindered by tremors.
Zhang developed a wristband, much like a watch, which is capable of reducing the tremors. The watch provokes tremors in the wrist which are being picked up by the brain. Because the brain focuses on the tremors in the wrist it “forgets” the tremors in the hand. The result is that the hand can write without being hindered by tremors. Zhang named the innovation for the person she made it for: the Emma Watch.
The Emma Watch is currently only a prototype, but research is underway about what it would mean for Parkinson´s patients on a wider scale. It is not a cure, but if it can help patients we can only hope that the Emma Watch will be brought to market.