Apparatus and method for reduction of neurological movement disorder symptoms using wearable device

Abstract

A multimodal wearable band which uses mechanical vibrations to stimulate sensory neurons in the wrist or ankle in order to reduce the severity of tremors, rigidity, involuntary muscle contractions, and bradykinesia caused by neurological movement disorders and to free users from freezing induced by movement disorders. The device uses sensors to provide output used by a processing unit to determine the optimal stimulation pattern for each user and to determine when stimulation is necessary, and then uses one or more vibration motors to accordingly stimulate the users neurological pathways to lessen the severity of a user's symptoms. The device can also be adapted to integrate with 3rd party devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wearable device for mitigating a movement disorder symptom of a user, comprising:
 a band;   a processing unit disposed in the band; and   a vibration motor disposed in the band and in communication with the processing unit,
 wherein the processing unit is configured to: 
 receive a signal from a third-party wearable device; and 
 activate the vibration motor to provide a vibrational output to a portion of a user based on the signal. 
   
     
     
         2 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the third-party wearable device is a smartwatch. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the signal is generated from a sensor suite of the third-party wearable device, the sensor suite of the third-party wearable device configured to transmit sensor data related to a movement disorder symptom of the user. 
     
     
         4 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to convert the signal into a stimulation waveform; and
 activate the vibration motor to provide a vibrational output to a portion of the user based on the stimulation waveform.   
     
     
         5 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the band is configured to couple to a housing of the third-party wearable device. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:
 offload one or more processes of to the third-party wearable device; and   receive a motor command from the third-party wearable device, wherein the processing unit activates the vibration motor based on the motor command.   
     
     
         7 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the band further comprises a sensor, the sensor configured to generate sensor output relating to a movement disorder of a user. 
     
     
         8 . The wearable device of  claim 7 , further comprising a plurality of sensors disposed in the band, each sensor of the plurality of sensors positioned around a circumference of the band. 
     
     
         9 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of vibrational motors disposed in the band, each vibration motor of the plurality of vibration motors positioned around a circumference of the band. 
     
     
         10 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the band further comprises a battery configured to power the processing unit and the vibration motor. 
     
     
         11 . The wearable device of  claim 1 , wherein the third-party wearable device is in communication with a smartphone. 
     
     
         12 . A method of mitigating a movement disorder symptom of a user, comprising:
 receiving, at a processing unit disposed within a band, a signal from a third-party wearable device;   activating, by the processing unit, a vibration motor based on the signal from the third-party wearable device, wherein the vibrational motor is disposed within the band and connected to the processing unit; and   providing a vibrational output generated from the vibration motor to a portion of a user to mitigate a movement disorder symptom of the user.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 generating sensor output related to a movement disorder of the user from a sensor of the third-party wearable device; and   transmitting, from the third-party wearable device to the processing unit, a signal for a motor command of the vibration motor.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 generating sensor output from a sensor of the band;   calculating, at the processing unit, a vibrational output based on the sensor output; and   activating, by the processing unit, the vibration motor to provide the vibrational output to the portion of the user.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 generating sensor output from a sensor of the band;   transmitting the sensor output to the third-party wearable device;   calculating, at the third-party wearable device, a vibrational output;   transmitting the vibrational output from the third-party wearable device to the processing unit; and   activating, by the processing unit, the vibration motor based on the vibrational output.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the band is coupled to a housing of the third-party wearable device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the band comprises a battery configured to power the vibration motor and the processing unit. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the vibrational output includes a stimulation waveform. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the third-party device is a smartwatch. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the third-party wearable device is in communication with a smartphone.