This project was born from Hans van Essen’s winning entry in the Elektor Labs 2024 Project Contest. The Vibrotactile Gloves for Parkinson’s patients impressed the judges for their innovative approach to improving motor impairments through vibrotactile stimulation technology. Designed specifically for patients with Parkinson's disease, they utilize stimulation to effectively combat motor impairment. By targeting the fingertips, these gloves provide relief, revolutionizing the management of motor discomfort associated with Parkinson’s.

The Mission

After a family member was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I embarked on a mission to develop a set of vibrotactile gloves based on the findings of a study by Peter A. Tass. It is known that in Parkinson’s patients, brain cells exhibit a kind of synchronicity. When certain neurons are activated, such as during actions such as walking, adjacent neurons also fire, leading to uncontrolled movements. This synchronization can severely impair mot...