Granddaughter of Parkinson’s patient invents ‘smart’ walking stick to help thousands of sufferers

A student entrepreneur whose grandfather was debilitated by Parkinson’s disease has created a mobility aid to improve the lives of other patients with the condition.

Neha Shahid Chaudhry was inspired to invent a ‘smart’ walking stick after witnessing her late granddad struggle with the disease for seven years, repeatedly suffering falls when his joints seized up.

The device detects when a user’s limbs have frozen and they cannot continue walking. Recognising a pause in motion, the stick vibrates to help the patient regain their rhythm and get moving again.

Product design technology graduate Neha, of the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), hopes her invention can benefit half the 127,000 Parkinson’s patients in Britain who regularly experience joint freezing and abnormal gait symptoms.

It has already been successfully tested among dozens of Parkinson’s patients, and the NHS and Parkinson’s UK charity have expressed an interest in her product.

Neha, 23, founder of start-up company Walk to Beat, has been overwhelmed by the response to the technology.

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