[VIDEO] Google Joins Fight against Parkinson's Disease through Purchase of Spoon

By Admin
Share
Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently acquired Lift Labs, a small firm that manufactures a special spoon to make it easier for individuals with Parkinsons...

Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently acquired Lift Labs, a small firm that manufactures a special spoon to make it easier for individuals with Parkinson’s disease to eat, and in doing so is strengthening its presence in the hardware and biotech space.

The company is joining the Google[x] division, according to Reuters, which has a Life Sciences group aside from focusing on projects such as self-driving cars and drones. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The spoon by Lift Labs, known as Liftware, uses vibrations to offset the tremors that occur as a result of Parkinson’s disease. By allowing the user to focus on the social aspects of eating, Liftware returns a sense of independence to those diagnosed with Parkinson’s and increases their quality of life.

Developed with the help of a National Institutes of Health grant, the tremor cancellation spoon will continue to be available for sale at a retail price of $295.

Google said in a post on Google+ on Wednesday, Sept. 10 that it would also explore how Lift Labs’ technology “could be used in other ways to improve the understanding and management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.”

“We’re excited to be joining Google[x], Google’s moonshot factory,” announced Lift Labs. “We will continue to sell our Liftware system, and Google will enable us to reach even more people living with Parkinson’s or essential tremor who could benefit from using tremor-cancelling devices every day.”

Google has increasingly expanded into health-related services. Earlier this year Google said it was partnering with Novartis to develop special contact lenses for diabetics capable of monitoring blood sugar levels in tears, and in 2013 Google created Calico, a health startup, to develop technologies that tackle health issues related to aging. 

Share

Featured Articles

NTT & Olympus: World's First Cloud Endoscopy System

NTT and medical technology company Olympus put on a demonstration, showing the IOWN APN's low-latency capability, for the first cloud endoscopy system

Richter BioLogics' New Biopharmaceutical GMP Facility

Richter BioLogics GmbH & Co KG's a new biopharmaceutical GMP facility in Germany will boost production capabilities and local employment

GE HealthCare's Pilot Study Shows Value of Portrait Mobile

A pilot study from GE Healthcare has shown the value of Portrait Mobile Continuous Monitoring Solution, a leap in post-surgical monitoring efficiency

50% of Teens to be Affected by Myopia Globally by 2050

Telehealth & COVID-19

NVIDIA’s AI Insights for Diabetes Prevention with GluFormer

Technology & AI

Novo Nordisk's CagriSema Next Gen Weight-Loss Treatment

Medical Devices & Pharma