A Review on Wearable Technologies for Tremor Suppression

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

• Pathological tremors are prevalent movement disorders causing significant daily living difficulties.
• Current treatments like pharmacotherapy and surgery have limitations, including side effects, decreased efficacy, and surgical risks.
• Wearable technologies and transcutaneous afferent stimulation are emerging as potential tremor management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review devices for tremor management based on biomechanical modification, counteracting forces, and neurostimulation.
• To discuss the effectiveness of robotic exoskeletons, soft robotic exoskeletons, and transcutaneous neurostimulators.
• To evaluate tremor device validation metrics and the lack of standardized comparison procedures.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on wearable technologies and neurostimulation for tremor suppression.
• Analysis of studies on robotic exoskeletons (rigid and soft) and transcutaneous neurostimulators.
• Evaluation of validation metrics and methodologies used in tremor management device research.

Main Results:

• Wearable technologies can suppress upper limb tremors by altering limb biomechanics or applying counteracting forces.
• Transcutaneous afferent stimulation has demonstrated significant tremor attenuation.
• Various devices, including robotic exoskeletons and neurostimulators, show feasibility in tremor management.

Conclusions:

• Emerging wearable technologies and neurostimulation offer promising alternatives for managing disabling tremors.
• Standardized validation procedures are needed to compare the effectiveness of different tremor management devices.
• Further research is required to optimize these novel approaches for widespread clinical application.