P17044: Human Tremor Mitigation

Problem Definition

Table of Contents

1 Team Vision for Problem Definition Phase
2 Project Summary
3 Use Cases
4 Project Goals and Key Deliverables
5 Customer Requirements (Needs)
6 Engineering Requirements (Metrics & Specifications)
7 Constraints
8 House of Quality
9 Plans for next phase

Team Vision for Problem Definition Phase

During this phase of the process our team determined the focus of our project. Given three options of monitoring, passive or active mitigation we chose to proceed with active mitigation through the use of a wearable technology to help reduce or eliminate a patients tremors.

Project Summary

Roughly 7 million Americans suffer from some form of Essential Tremor, most commonly manifesting in their arms and hands. An Essential Tremor is an involuntary rhythmic shaking in the appendage of a patient.

Currently these tremors can be mitigated through various forms of drug treatments but often involve side effects, regular check ups and self monitoring. They also tend to lose their potency over time, requiring increases in daily dosage.

The goals of this project are to research the current state of wearable tremor mitigation technologies and identify gaps in treatment options. The expected end result is a wearable tremor mitigation technology that decreases the intensity of the tremors and increases the patients dexterity and confidence in their daily life.

Click here for the Problem Summary.