Enabling users with tremors to write legibly, comfortably, and on-the-go.

This project was developed in a group with C. Kraus, M. Olivares Tay, and H. White over the course of three days as part of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s first annual Engineering Innovation for Society competition. The design problem was provided by the Center for Disability Services.

Above is a preliminary diagram produced during the ideation stage. This was the basis for our final design. The springs will cause the pen to stay in place by allowing it to oscillate fully out of phase with the user’s tremors. This works because tremors from victims of Parkinson’s Disease are shown to be regular and uniform.

Design problem — “My mother has Parkinson’s. One of the things that bothers her most is her loss of the ability to write clearly (or not at all on somedays). She has a weighted pen and wrist weight that help to a small degree, but not always.”

After researching the cause of tremors in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and studying other ailments that cause hand tremors, we decided to go with an approach that addresses the resulting tremor rather than an underlying neurological cause. As such, the problem is that people with tremors are unable to legibly write during their daily lives.

Our goal is to make a product that will allow them to independently and discreetly improve their handwriting to, at a minimum level, be legible. To do this realistically, we have the ability to attach something to the person at an external level, make changes to their writing implement, or change the way they interact with their writing implement.

As we developed the concept into a 3D model, our design gained

• Comfort

• Reusability

• Cost accessibility