Liftware stabilizer with spoon and fork

The Liftware system is designed for people whose hand tremor interferes with activities of daily living (ADLs). Typically, these hand tremors are caused by a medical condition such as Essential Tremor or Parkinson’s Disease. 

Sensors in the Liftware handle detect a person’s tremor, and the device responds using motors to move the spoon opposite the tremor. The spoon can discern motion from hand tremor from other types of motion, allowing it to respond to just the tremor while preserving the user’s intended motion. 

In contrast to braces, which force a user’s hand to be still and can cause patient discomfort, Liftware allows the patient’s hand to shake while stabilizing food in the spoon.

Liftware is not for everybody.

It will not provide benefit to people who do not have hand tremor, or if a person’s hand tremor does not interfere with eating.
Liftware will not provide significant benefit for people who spill only rarely when using utensils to bring food to their mouth.
It may provided only limited benefit for people with large amplitude/severe tremor or dystonia.
Liftware will provide limited benefit for tremors below 4 Hz and above 12 Hz.
Who can benefit from Liftware:

Liftware is intended for people with mild to moderate upper limb tremor that causes them regularly to spill food while eating.
Liftware can help people who frequently spill peas and similar foods, or people who may bring head at least halfway to meet food.
Liftware is most beneficial for people with hand tremor between 4 and 12 Hz.
Liftware can help people with postural, intentional tremor.

Liftware may provide limited benefit to people with severe tremor or intermittent tremor. People with resting tremor (such as Parkinsonian tremor) will experience benefit only if their tremor makes eating difficult. The amount of benefit the device provides to a user will also vary depending on factors that affect the intensity of a persons’s tremor at any given moment (such as medications, sleep, stress, and exercise).

Liftware is non-invasive and safe to use. There are no contraindications for people using medications to treat their tremor, or for people who have undergone Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery.