Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are methods to make life much
easier for Parkinson’s patients. A main symptom of Parkinson’s disease is a gradually worsening
tremor. Tremors are involuntary movements made by the patient’s body, most commonly within
the limbs (especially the arms). These tremors are caused by the death of nerve cells from a lack
of dopamine. They make it difficult for patients to perform basic movements during their daily
lives and therefore we decided to create a treatment to reduce tremors. Our treatment is a device
placed on the arm that includes several components. The first is an atomic magnetometer, which
involves chip scale sensors that can detect action potentials. The second part includes an electric
neuromodulation unit, which involves administering an electric current across a motor neuron
bundle in order to prevent an action potential from reaching a patient’s muscles. A computer will
be used to analyze the neuronal activity data and activate the implant fitted to the median nerve to
cancel unwanted nerve signals. The proposed device is non-invasive and is slated to be easy to
implant. All components including the magnetometer are small and can be implanted using a
minimally invasive surgical procedure. Biocompatible materials are chosen for the implant to
prevent excessive stress on internal structures and tissues from the device. The main potential
limitation of our implant would be the body potentially rejecting it. A method of minimizing this
limitation would be to produce the implant in several different materials so that if one material is
rejected, another can be used for a patient. Cost may also be another limitation since some may
not be able to afford the product. Insurance could be used to cover the cost of the product, or we
can create slightly cheaper alternatives. Overall, we believe that the device is an ideal solution, as
it targets the action potentials within the patient’s nervous system, a root cause of tremors. In other
words, this is a proactive solution as opposed to a reactive one.