Fleo
Writing aid for people with Parkinson's tremors
How can one design to empower people with Parkinson's tremor ?
#biodesign #parkinsonism #parkinson'stremors #writingaid #designforspecialneeds
Guide
Dr. Vikram Singh Parmar
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
Year
Recognition
2016
James Dyson Award 2019 | National Winner →
Design Registration - India 291834 | March 20, 2017
An estimated 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative illness with no cure. Parkinsonism typically occurs in people over the age of 60, but there has been an increase in young adults suffering from it.
Most common symptom of Parkinson’s disease is hand tremors. Tremors takes a toll on people’s everyday life. Although there are products available in the market for daily activities there is no solution for writing/drawing. So the activity of writing and drawing is completely ceased. Fleo is designed to help in this, so people can follow their passion and bring back confidence.
Understanding Parkinsonism
Look
Observing people to discover what they do rather than what they say they do.
Case studies of people with Parkinson’s tremors.
Ask
Enlisting people’s participation to elicit relevant information.
Experience of the subject was recorded to understand how they felt while doing a task.
Try
Creating simulations to help empathize with people and evaluate proposed designs.
Squiggle Wiggle Writer (vibrating motorized pen) to empathize of the feel of having Parkinson’s tremors.
Learn
Analyzing the information collected to identify patterns and insights.
Result of the questionnaire conducted on people with Parkinsonism.
Handwriting of People with Parkinson's tremors
Brief
To improve accuracy and efficiency while writing / drawing, for a person with Parkinson’s tremors.
Ideation
Mock-ups & Prototypes
Proof of concept
The proposed concept was experimented and proved feasible.
User testing
Refining
Form exploration
Building prototype
Beat the tremor
Fleo is a stabilizing pen designed to help in writing and drawing for people with Parkinson’s tremors. It has innovative self-stabilizing components which reduces the impact of tremor, facilitating a more confident and efficient writing.
How it works ?
The construction of the pen contains a copper ring rotor attached to a motor with a battery. Once it’s on, it acts as a gyroscope and tries to remain in its original axis of rotation. So when the pen is switched on the gyroscopic effect of the rotor provides resistance to any undesirable vibration of the pen. Thus it helps maintain control without taking away the personality and individuality of a person’s writing/drawing.
Usage
It is wireless, handy and with an easy click it starts its stabilizing effect. It’s rechargeable and refillable which increases convenience. The switch and the LED is placed keeping easy access in mind. The form of the pen offers good ergonomic support and a confident grip.
The Change
Fleo increases accuracy and speed of writing. This will encourage people with Parkinson's tremor to follow their passion and bring back confidence in life.
James Dyson Award
National Winner | 2019
Fleo | Writing aid for people with Parkinson's tremors
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