The work presented here details the modeling, fabrication, testing, and analysis of a dynamic eating utensil designed to reduce hand tremors in subjects with Parkinson's disease. Most of the current work addressing this problem has been invasive, using medicine or electrical brain stimulation for example. Here, an analysis is presented on the nature of the tremor. This is then used to develop a multi degree-of-freedom analytic model for the forearm/wrist/utensil system. Experiments were performed to identify model form and parameters and theory is presented which allowed for optimized system design. A physical model of the hand/wrist system was developed for testing utensil prototypes in controlled experiment. Ultimately iterative human subject testing validated the design decisions, providing both hard data and survey results to shape the final product. In addition to general performance, special consideration is given to the engineering design parameters and those established by the candidates for ease of use. Specifically, the device presented here outperforms its predecessors in cost, manufacturability, and usability. Additionally, an option for easy user tuning makes the device appropriate for a large host of tremor sufferers. Quantitative and qualitative results indicating the overall effectiveness are presented with the design.
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