Smaller, lighter “smart” glove designed to stabilize a wider range of hand tremors

0

Steadi-Two is now available for preorders in Canada and United States on steadiwear.com with a delivery date in the second quarter of 2022.

People with hand tremors may have difficulty eating, drinking, dressing, writing, and using a cell phone or computer, as well as many other activities in their personal and work lives. Studies show that 30 percent of people with tremors lose their jobs or retire early because of their condition. In the United States, where an estimated 10 million people live with essential tremor, the annual cost of the disease is $ 142.7 billion.

John kirkconnell of Guelph, Ontario, was the first person with Essential Tremor to try Steadi-Two. A Steadi-One enthusiast, who says the original glove was “a real life changer,” Kirkconnell is “in awe” of Steadi-Two. He is one of the beta testers providing feedback on Steadi-Two, which underwent lab testing earlier this year.

“It’s just wonderful. Putting it on and taking it off is much easier, it’s smaller and lighter,” says the retired paramedic who used the new glove for daily activities such as eating, drinking. drinks and shaving. “It will make my life easier.”

Kirkconnell previously tried medications to control his tremors, but couldn’t deal with the side effects. He had neurosurgery twice and it worked until the tremor returned.

Tremor medications can produce side effects that outweigh the benefits. Surgery, especially deep brain stimulation, can involve significant risk and expense, and treatments such as Botox injections on an ongoing basis can also be expensive, Elias explains.

Like Steadi-One, the battery-less feature of Steadi-Two sets it apart from other products on the market. This means that there is no recharging and no limit to how long a person can wear the glove each day.

Steadi-One was highly rated by Canadians who tested it. However, almost all of the recommendations pointed to an improvement, according to Elias: miniaturization.

The team cut the glove size in half and the weight by 30 percent, so it’s now less than a pound. Steadi-Two can also accommodate a wider range of types of tremors.

Steadiwear technology is inspired by the design used to stabilize buildings against earthquakes, a technology called Magnetically Adjusted Mass Damping. Steadi-Two incorporates a new advanced magnet-based system that moves in the opposite direction of a person’s tremor to stabilize the wrist and forearm and minimize tremors. Steadiwear is registered with Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a manufacturer of Class 1 medical devices.

During the first half of next year, Steadiwear will distribute samples of the glove to assistive technology clinics across Canada and the United States to allow patients to try it. Doctors and other healthcare professionals interested in a sample of the device can contact Elias and Maamary through the company’s website.

AGING WELL, from Canada Technology and Aging Network, has funded Steadiwear over several years, helping bring the device to market, with the goal of improving the lives of people with essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease, the most common movement disorders in the world. .

“When it comes to all aspects of starting a business from scratch – the mentoring, the financial support and the collaborative environment – AGE-WELL has helped us in every way to get to where we are. are today, ”says Elias. Steadiwear won a national ideas competition organized by AGE-WELL and HACKING HEALTH in 2017.

The startup has also benefited from support and partnerships with the Canadian Center for Aging + Innovation in Brain Health (CABHI), the Ontario Brain Institute, the Ontario Centers of Excellence, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto and the International Essential Tremor Foundation.

In 2021, Steadiwear received the People’s Choice Award in the MC² Capital Pitch competition from the Center for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), and was named a finalist in the Hardware Cup Life Sciences competition and the MedVentures Health Innovation Pitch competition .

Steadiwear closed a Seed investment cycle in the summer of 2021.

About AGE-WELL:

AGE-WELL NCE Inc. is from Canada Technology and Aging Network. The pan-Canadian network brings together researchers, seniors, caregivers, partner organizations and future leaders to accelerate the delivery of technology solutions that make a significant difference in the lives of Canadians. AGE-WELL researchers produce technologies, services, policies and practices that improve the quality of life for older people and caregivers, and generate social and economic benefits for them. Canada. AGE-WELL is funded by the federal Networks of Centers of Excellence program. https://agewell-nce.ca/

SOURCE AGE-WELL Network of Centers of Excellence (NCE)

For more information: [email protected]

Related links

http://agewell-nce.ca/

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.