Thursday 27 November 2014

Google introduce smart spoon

Google's Smart spoon reduces hand tremors by 76 pc and will help people suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Google has introduced a "smart spoon" aimed to help people suffering from essential tremors and Parkinson's disease. The company states that the product can reduce shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76%.

Internet giant Google has started promoting its Liftware spoon, a high tech device that employs hundreds of algorithms to sense how a hand is shaking and makes instant adjustments to stay balanced. The spoons have been launched for $295.

Parkinson's disease affects more than 10 million people worldwide, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin's mother. According to reports Brin has also said he has a genetic mutation associated with higher rates of Parkinson's. He has donated more than $50m to research for a cure.

"We want to help people in their daily lives today and hopefully increase understanding of disease in the long run," Google spokesperson Katelin Jabbari said.

Earlier this year, Google had acquired Lift Lab, the spoon's maker. The company's founder, Anupam Pathak and his team now work for Google X's life sciences division.

Pathak states that they hope to add sensors to the spoons to help medical researchers and providers better understand, measure and alleviate tremors.

Apart from this the division has made major acquisitions in medical field. The division owns a stake in DNAnexus, a software company analyzing genome sequencing to better understand the genetic factors of heart disease and ageing. Google's X's life sciences division is also working on smart contact lens that would measure glucose levels in tears to help diabetics track their blood sugar levels and is researching on how nanoparticles in blood might help detect diseases. Read: Google partners with Novartis to produce 'smart' contact lenses

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