My wife has PD (diagnosed several years ago) and I have been trying to research any devices that might assists her. I remembered a TV news report of a watch that assisted with tremors and that led me to look at anti-tremor devices generally.
There seem to be a few devices out there (Carla Trio plus a few other generic ATDs) but I have not seen any for sale in the UK … the devices SEEM to have research behind them but I have no idea if they are just snake oil (it is noticeable that they don’t seem to be mentioned on the PD UK site).
Does anyone have any information (good or bad) re these devices?
Apologies if I have missed a discussion on this in the forum - I did look
Microsoft was working on the Emma watch (link below), but I still don’t see it anywhere for sale, I could see that it would work, why don’t you put the question into Microsoft and let us know what you find out.
Thanks for the replies - I did send an email to a contact organisation that was involved about the watch but didn’t receive. There are a couple of other AVDs out there but it is difficult to know how effective (if at all) they are.
I will read up on the Vilim ball… it looks plausible but I guess there is a lot of snake oil about. It would be useful if PUK would have a section re devices etc with an indication of whether or not there is any science behind them.
Hi, I was looking at this post a few months back and I wasn’t sure whether to purchase the Vilim ball for my mum because thr company didn’t accept credit card payments. I have a friend though who is Lithuanian and messaged the company to get a few more details. She purchased it for me through her Revolut account and the company sent the ball with DHL(tracked). They were really quick- 2 days and it arrived today. I was worried it would need a bit of expert handling to set it up, because my mum is not the best with technology, but she couldn’t wait for me to video-call her; she opened it and started using it straight away. She only used it once so far, so I can’t give you any progress reports, but she said it felt good and her last three fingers felt less stiff.
My mum has been using the device for a week. On the first 3 days she was using it once or twice a day only on one hand because she was feeling a bit tired. She told me it really felt like a workout. A patient should be using it up to a maximum of 3 times a day. After a week she is now using it 3 times a day, only on the right hand.
She has noticed visible improvement. She was able to shorten 3 pairs of trousers she bought that week on the first day of use (previously the same task would have taken her a week). As she was very good with her hands and was involved in all sorts of arts and crafts, it was really difficult for her not to be able to use her right (dominant) hand/arm. So, a week in she is very happy. I must also mention that she changed her medication last Friday, around the same time she started using the ball-moved from Neupro to levodopa. So, I cannot say with accuracy how much improvement is down to the ball and how much on to the new drug. But, she is very keen on using it every day.
The only thing she told me that she was still not as sure about was the price -€250 and about €50 for DHL delivery (the product was delivered from Lithuania to another EU country so I don’t know if it will attract any VAT or Customs duties if the Vilim ball is delivered to the UK). It is a really good device but she thought it was a bit expensive.
On the other hand, she mentioned that it helped her more than physio, where she pays €40 for 20 minutes a time. She also feels that as this is a new product she is probably paying more as it is not widely available. In the end she accepted she would pay much more for a mobile phone, so she is probably not used to yet to paying for Parkinson’s devices.
Finally, it made her more willing to embrace this kind of new devices and now is hoping to see if that Emma watch linked above will ever materialise.
