Hope that Tyndall Institute's 'wearable technology' may save lives of people with Parkinson's

In a research laboratory for 'wearables' are (right) Tony Wilkinson, Chairperson, Cork Parkinson's Association and (left) Salvatore Tedesco, Senior Researcher Team Leader whose team is working on the development of wearable technology at Tyndall National Institute in Cork city. Pic Larry Cummins

An estimated 15,000 people across the country have Parkinson’s, including some 1,500 in Cork. 

Tony Wilkinson, who also has Parkinson’s and is the chair of Cork's Parkinson's Association, believes that this number will double in a decade’s time. But there is hope that conditions may improve. 

In 15 years, a type of wearable technology that could save lives and “enhance the quality of life” could be introduced into society. Right now, tests are being carried out, and data is being gathered in a lab at the Tyndall Institute with a working prototype that could help monitor early warning signs.

Since 2018, Dr Salvatore Tedesco and his team have been working on multiple projects to help “address societal challenges for people with Parkinson’s”. Five years into their research, the team has created a prototype, coined “wearable technology” – a potentially life-changing device. 

This device could be worn as a glove, a helmet or clipped onto a piece of clothing, and could help monitor a person’s symptoms. The device would then send all the data to a consultant, who would keep track of everything. It is powered by artificial intelligence, and if it spots an irregularity or a “red flag”, it alerts the consultant, who then schedules to see the patient.

“Moving around for people with Parkinson’s is quite complicated, especially if we live in rural areas. So with this device, maybe the clinician could see this person once per month, or once every three months. And if it’s used in the very early stages of Parkinson’s, it will have a much bigger impact for the person,” Mr Wilkinson told the Irish Examiner.

It would save time and lives and enhance their quality of life. 

Mr Wilkinson and the Cork Parkinson’s Association have been heavily involved in the research at the Tyndall Institute, but this interview was the first time that he and Dr Tedesco had ever met. 

Dr Tedesco believes that his research will take another five years, but commercialization for the medical device would take around 10 years due to the regulations that are in place by pharmaceutical companies.

He told the Irish Examiner: “In 15 years, this could potentially save lives. This is good, this could save money, reduce the carbon footprint and enhance the quality of life.” 

(Left to right) Researcher Eoghan Vaughan, Tony Wilkinson, Chairperson of Cork Parkinson's Association and Salvatore Tedesco, Senior Researcher Team Leader in the research laboratory for 'wearables' at Tyndall National Institute in Cork city. Picture: Larry Cummins

“For both the carer and the person with Parkinson’s,” Kate Wilkinson, Tony’s wife added. “You might have Parkinson’s, but it doesn’t identify you, you are still yourself. And we need to remove the stigma around the disease.

“We are now in a position where technology, I feel, is really the way forward to help people control the conditions they have with Parkinson’s because the tech is developing, and this piece of tech is non-intrusive.

“And that to me is the most important thing about wearable technology, I think, as well as other aspects of technology.”