Photo: From left, Jiahui Mao, of Huzhou, China; Ethan Trotter, of Moore, Oklahoma; Jacob Nichols, of Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Andrew Daniel, of Ada, Oklahoma.
Eating can be an upsetting and humiliating ordeal for people whose hands shake uncontrollably due to Parkinson’s disease or a tremor disorder. Four biomedical engineering students at the University of Oklahoma hope that their invention will help those diagnosed with these illnesses.
Their invention is called SteadiSpoon, a self-stabilizing eating utensil that helps Parkinson’s and essential tremor patients to feed themselves despite hand tremors, says Jacob Nichols, of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
“Our team designed SteadiSpoon to empower people with tremors to regain the agency, autonomy and dignity that comes from feeding oneself. Unlike other devices, the SteadiSpoon is self-stabilizing and does not require batteries,” Nichols said. “With the help of the Center for Human Performance Measurement at the OU Health Sciences Center, we determined that our device performs on par with the best existing solutions, making it the most affordable device in its class by far.”
In April, Nichols and Andrew Daniel, Jiahui Mao and Ethan Trotter were awarded a $5,000 VentureWell E-Team Grant for SteadiSpoon. Raleigh Dewan, of Austin, Texas, is the entrepreneur behind the invention. The prototype was created by the four students who all are seniors in the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering.
Yo Shih (photo), Ph.D., serves as director of the Center for Human Performance at the OU Health Sciences Center. “The students were persistent during the process to execute their ideas and seeking out the best way to test their hypothesis. It was a pleasure to work with these young creative minds who devote themselves to solving real-world problems,” she said.
The group is now applying for the second stage of VentureWell’s program, with $20,000 being awarded to the winning team. They will compete against 11 other student science and tech innovator teams from institutions across the United States.
VentureWell focuses on advancing innovation and entrepreneurship education, providing opportunities for STEM students. The organization is supported by the Lemelson Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.
Learn more about the Gallogly College of Engineering here.
