Smart Spoon for Parkinson's Patients

Validated Smart Spoon that enables independent eating for Parkinson's patients who are almost 1% of the aging population; A correcting impediment tool with self-stabilizing mechanism using electronics and 3D printing

A few months ago, at a family dinner, I noticed my elderly uncle, Arjun, had tremors and trouble eating. The food was spilling all over the place. This disturbed me deeply. I found that my uncle had Parkinson's disease and this was the reason for his tremors. Eating independently was a nightmare for him. I told my teammates about the problem. That’s how our idea of Smart Spoon was born.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It is caused by the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Symptoms include tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement, and difficulty with coordination and balance. 

According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, an estimated 7 to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease. As per a study, India has around 7 million aged population and the United States has an estimated 1 million people diagnosed with the disease, and this number is expected to double by the year 2040.  Parkinson's disease is more common in older adults, with the majority of cases occurring in people over the age of 60. 

Most common issues faced by patients include:

• Tremors: Parkinson's disease is characterized by tremors, or shaking, in the hands and arms. This can make it difficult for patients to hold utensils or bring food to their mouths.

• Stiffness: Causes stiffness in the limbs and trunk, making it hard to move the arms and hands in the smooth, coordinated way needed for eating.

• Slowness of movement: known as bradykinesia, which can make it hard to initiate the movement.

These problems can have a significant impact on a person's confidence and self-esteem. The physical symptoms of the disease can make daily activities, including eating, difficult and challenging. This makes patients feel self-conscious and embarrassed, thus leading to social isolation and experience intense embarrassment. It can also lead to malnutrition and weight loss if not addressed.

We decided to provide an impactful solution to the aging community with Parkinson's. 

We thought of the below ideas:

• Fall Detection and Prevention device 

• Non-invasive electrical simulation to reduce tremors

• Smart Self-stabilizing spoon 

As part of our outreach and research, we discussed our ideas with a neurologist from Aster RV hospital, a globally reputed hospital, and medical device research companies such as Dozee, Dynocardia and Max Planck Society, Germany.

After in-depth research and discussion, we finalized on working on a correcting impediment device - SMART SELF STABILIZING SPOON FOR PARKINSON’S PATIENTS .

Our Smart Spoon enables independent eating for Parkinson's patients

The Smart spoon is a device designed for Parkinson's patients that uses an IMU (inertial measurement unit) to measure tremors and a microcontroller to run a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) algorithm to control two motors that keep the spoon parallel to the ground and prevent food from spilling. An encoder is also used to measure the position of the motors.

During the design and development, we followed the engineering design process. We worked on many prototypes - designing, solving issues and testing.

1. Mechanical Design: 

 We used OnShape to Design the mechanical parts of the Smart Spoon. We created all the assemblies, tested to make sure every component fits in and the 3D printed them. We initially used FDM printed gears. To reduce the backlash, we switched to SLA printed gears.

2. Electronic Design:

    We used the IMU to detect the tremors. The information from the IMU is passed to the PID controller which controls the 2 motors through the driver. We have used a LiPo battery to power the Smart Spoon. We made the electronic connections more stable by making all the sensors and motors stationary to each other. We switched to a more efficient motor driver to increase performance

3. Software Design

We have used limits for stabilization to make it more user friendly. The software development included the tuning of the PID algorithm.

4. Testing Methodology

We tested all of our prototypes through Iterative Testing Methodology. We tested the Smart Spoon with Parkinson’s patients and it works very well for patients with moderate tremors.

5. Validation

We have collaborated with RV College of Physiotherapy and they are facilitating the validation process. As of now, the Smart Spoon is being validated with Parkinson's patients in our community.

The Smart Spoon is designed to help people with Parkinson's disease who have difficulty feeding themselves due to tremors. 

The technology uses sensors and motors to stabilize the tremors and provide a stable spoon for the person to use. 

This can help improve their ability to eat independently, which can prevent malnutrition and weight loss. Additionally, the spoon can help reduce the embarrassment and social isolation that many people with Parkinson's disease experience. 

Our simple yet impactful device can provide a sense of independence, self-sufficiency and help to maintain social connections. The technology has the potential to be a valuable tool for people living with Parkinson's disease.

RoboLectro Kinesist comprises a young, self-motivated and skilled team of students of 16 and 22 years old. They are supported by mentors whose main goal is to allow the students to explore and think innovatively.

Team Details:

1. Aarrav Anil: (16 year old)

Role: Mechatronics Design and Development  

Aarrav is a young inventor and robotics enthusiast who has been building robots since he was six years old, starting with LEGOs and moving on to more advanced projects as he grew older. 

He is a Certified Solidworks Associate for CAD design from Dassault Systemes.

He has won 20 awards in robotics competitions, including representing India in International competitions such as WRO, FLL, FGC, Robocup, CoSpace and Robofest. The most recent being in WRO International - Future Innovators category that was held in Dortmund, Germany, November 2022. There were participants from 73 countries and his team won the Gold

Some of his notable projects include an E-bike, a CNC drawing robot, and a flywheel energy storage system. 

With his huge expertise and a knack to make learning fun for children, he is the Curriculum developer of LEGO Robotics for his mom's edutech company 

In addition to robotics, Aarrav enjoys traveling, cycling, trekking, and carpentry, and has trekked in the Himalayas and built his own wooden picnic table. 

He shares his projects on his YouTube channel, Aarravoltics.

2. Vidhyasagar G M: (22 year old)

Role: Electronics, Software Design and Development 

Vidhyasagar is a highly skilled and accomplished Mechatronics Engineer with a passion for coding and embedded systems. He has a strong interest in teaching and has demonstrated his knowledge and expertise by winning multiple state-level science and math Olympiads. He has also mentored a team that won first place at an international level World Robotics Olympiad held in Dortmund, Germany, which was participated by over 70+ countries. He has worked on a variety of projects during his studies such as a mopping machine, a universal stylus pen, a multi-material 3D printer, and a self-stabilizing smart spoon.

Mentors:

Ashwini Anil is an engineer who transitioned to become a STEM educator. She has 15 years of experience working in the corporate technical field with companies such as GE Healthcare, Tata Elxsi, and IISc. She has started her own Edutech company, RoboLectro STEAM Studio, where she uses her passion for teaching to mentor children and help them develop STEM skills by solving real-world problems through creative thinking. Ashwini is a LEGO Robotics certified trainer from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, and is part of the International Robotics community where she also judges LEGO based robotics competitions.

During the design and development phase, we had several discussions with experts from the Healthcare domain.

Mr.Gokul Rajamanickam is a Product Manager at Dynocardio Inc in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is an engineer from MIT who provided valuable insights during the outreach and research phase of a smart spoon project, which helped in finalizing the project.

Ms. Priyanka Shivaprakash is a Bioinformatics Scientist at Wave Life Science in the USA. Ms. Pooja Kadambi, the Head of Innovations at Dozee, Mr. Abin Ghosh, a designer of wearables for Parkinson's disease patients at Dozee in Bangalore, and Dr. Pavan from MaxPlanck in Germany. They all provided input on the problems faced by Parkinson's patients and gave feedback on ideas related to the disease. 

Dr. Kishore from RV Aster Hospital provided valuable feedback on a Smart Spoon project, and enlightened the team on the clinical aspects of Parkinson's disease.

We have collaborated with Dr. Prithviraj and Dr. Trapthi from RV College of Physiotherapy to validate our smart spoon on Parkinson's patients. 

During the validation process, we trained the patients on how to use the smart spoon, recorded our observations, and received positive feedback from the patients. They were happy to be able to eat independently and with ease. They provided suggestions and we modified the prototype based on their feedback.

Features of our SMART SPOON:

• PID controller - Intelligently controls the motor to rotate in opposite direction of the tremor

• Brushed motor with gearbox and Encoder

• IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) - 9 degrees of freedom makes the smart spoon more sensitive to tremors

• Robust and Stable Design - All the sensors and motors are stationary to each other

• Customized 3D printed components - Easier to enhance between prototypes

• Specially designed for PD Patients with moderate level tremors

• Compact and Easy to hold Design

• Easily detachable spoon - Using a wingnut which can be easily loosened 

• Long battery life and easily rechargeable

• Ergonomic design - knurling pattern to increase grip 

• Cost effective so that it is reachable to a wider community across the globe. The cost is 70% lesser than the existing solutions.

Overall Estimated Cost of Prototype: Rs. 4000 (~50 Dollars)

As per the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, an estimated 7 to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease and this number is expected to double by the year 2040.

The Smart Spoon will be useful for patients with moderate tremors.

Currently, the validation of our Smart Spoon is being done. 

During this process, we have received positive feedback from the patients and the impact during social gathering and independent eating.

Once the validation is complete, our goal is to make it a product and help the aging communit

Mechanical Design Details:

CAD Design of the Final Prototype of Smart Spoon:

We used OnShape to Design the mechanical parts of the Smart Spoon. Onshape is a cloud based CAD software which helps working as a team Created all the assemblies, tested to make sure every component fits in and the 3D printed them

Software Design:

We have used Arduino IDE which uses C++ language to code the logic into the microcontroller.

Logic:

• Check if the IMU is working. If working, calibrate the IMU sensor.
• When the IMU starts sensing the tremors, the change in roll and pitch is acquired from the IMU.
• The values of roll and pitch are passed into the PID function.
• The PID has been tuned in such a way that it positions the two motors so that the spoon stays parallel to the ground at all times.
• To measure the position of the motor, we used an interrupt function that counts the number of pulses of the encoder.

Flowchart of the logic

Currently, the validation of our Smart Spoon is being done in collaboration with the prestigious  RV College of Physiotherapy. It would be validated with a minimum of 30 patients, with varied parameters like age, ethnicity, tremor level etc.

Once productised, we expect to serve more than 1000 Parkinson’s patients across the globe in a year.

1. Funding for mass production

2. Global Chip shortage could increase the production cost

3. Pre-training of patients to use the Smart spoon 

4. People choosing tradition way of eating instead of using a spoon

1. RoboLectro STEAM Studio - Training partner.
2. RV College of Physiotherapy - Collaboration for Validation
3. Dozee (Bangalore), Max Planck (Germany) , Dynocardia (USA) , Wave LifeSciences (USA), RV Aster Hospital - Expert Advisors in Healthcare Domain

We are discussing with

• Startup and Entrepreneurship mentors to understand the process of getting funds. 

• Local Government to provide the funds