Google Glass: For People With Parkinson's Disease?

Wearable technology has gained a lot of momentum in the last year or so. The most popular, or should we say notorious, wearable tech that has come out is Google Glass, which has received both praise and backlash from different groups because of all the things that it can do. Taking pictures, making videos, sending emails, finding directions, setting reminders - everything can be done with just a few voice commands or gestures. While society debates whether or not Google Glass should be allowed to be worn everywhere, there is a group of researchers that is busy making Google Glass extremely useful for people with a certain disease - Parkinson's.

Since Parkinson's causes shaking/tremors,  sudden stiffness of limbs , posture instability, "freezing" besides mood swings and cognitive changes, scientists at Newcastle University are exploring various ways to see how Google Glass can be used to help people with Parkinson's, thus providing workarounds to live a life that's not constantly hampered by symptoms that ultimately bring down confidence levels in the person dealing with them.

One area that's being looked at is setting reminders. Since patients are required to take medication everyday and on time, Google Glass can easily send regular reminders to the patient reminding that they should take their medication. Reminders would not only tell them when to take their medication but how/ with what (water; food - different combinations at different times of day).  Similar discrete reminders can be sent to the patient to remind them to swallow their drool - a common problem with people with Parkinson's disease because of lack of motor control. 

Another common symptom is freezing, where the patient just gets stuck and is unable to walk. In such cases, the patient would want to call someone who could come get them, but calling on a phone with a touch screen can become a big hassle for someone with not so good motor skills. Google Glass can be helpful in such situations because someone can be easily called by just using voice commands. Since it is always connected to the Internet, friends and carers will be easily able to see where the patient is, and would come and get them.

Google glass also has maps and directions. If someone is out and about, chances of them getting lost are minimal because Glass displays turn by turn directions too, thus providing relief to not just the patient but also family and friends.

This video shows the researchers tell us in detail about their research:

The research is still at its very early stages, but what the volunteers with Parkinson's, who helped test Google Glass, say is remarkable. They are happy with what they experienced, and they thought that Glass really helped them control symptoms and live a normal life. Hit the source link to read their testimonial. 

Let's hope we get to hear more about this research in the future!

Source: Newcastle University via Gizmodo
Image source: Ubergizmo

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Telescopic Contact Lenses For Age Related Macular Degeneration

In the recent past, we have seen quite a few solutions for Macular degeneration, a leading cause of legal blindness in adults over the age of 60. These solutions enhance the person's existing vision and give them confidence to go out and about again and help them carry on with their lives more naturally ( see this and this). 

Switchable telescopic contact lens, developed by researchers in the USA and Switzerland, provides the same enhancements but without the need of surgery. It magnifies the scene details by 2.8 times when paired with special spectacles.

The contact lens has a telescopic element that consists of tiny aluminum mirrors. This element sits right outside the central region of the lens that lets light in for normal vision. The mirrors bounce the light around four times within the ring before passing it on to the retina. The accompanying spectacles have polarizing filters that can be turned on so that the only light coming to the retina is through the spectacle+lens combo, thus magnifying the image 2.8x.

In the adjoining picture you can look at the results of images captured through the contact lens and optomechanical eye. (a) USAF resolution chart @ 1x. (b) USAF resolution chart @ 2.8x. (c) Outdoor image taken with optomechanical eye. (d) Outdoor image taken with contact lens and both apertures (1x + 2.8x). (e) Outdoor image taken with contact lens @ 2.8x.

This prototype lens is 8mm in diameter, 1mm thick at its center and 1.17 mm thick in the magnifying ring.

Since the lens would be worn by the user for an extended period of time, it was very important to make it "breathable" or make it suitable for use for more than 30 minutes. The researchers achieved the breathability by creating very tiny channels that let the oxygen flow through. The "gas-permeable versions of these lenses are being developed for clinical trials in November.

According to the researchers, the image quality provided by these lenses fell short of design goals but they have identified all the factors that would improve performance in the near future.

Hit the source links to read more about these telescopic contact lenses in greater detail.

Source: Optics InfoBase via BBC

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