Mechanical design of a new device to assist eating in people with movement disorders.

Many people living with neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, stroke, muscular dystrophy or dystonia, experience upper limb impairments (muscle spasticity, loss of selective motor control, muscle weakness or tremors) and are unable to eat independently. This article presents the development of a new device to assist with eating, aimed at stabilizing the movement of people who have movement disorders. The design was guided by insights gathered through focus groups, with occupational therapists and engineers, about the challenges faced by individuals who have movement disorders and difficulty in eating autonomously.

Preliminary Design of an Active Stabilization Assistive Eating Device for People Living with Movement Disorders.

This paper presents the development of a new active assistive eating device, which aims to stabilize the movements of people living with movement disorders, such as spasticity and ataxia. Many people living with upper-body incapacities are unable to eat on their own, due to movement disorders (ex. tremors, spastic motions, lack of muscular tone), resulting from various ailments like Cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, Dystonia, Multiple sclerosis, strokes, and Muscular dystrophy).