Little Big Things™ – Parkinson’s Innovations to Help You Live Well

The Big Little Event hosted by the Davis Phinney Foundation was an amazing event to learn from inspiring presenters, meet other innovators of devices for Parkinson’s as well as showcase the ACTIVATOR Poles for the first time ever in Austin, Texas. All of the innovations were very exciting with several still in the development phase and some coming to market in 2020.

I (Mandy Shintani) was thrilled to meet engineer and developer, Sidney Collins, from San Luis Obispo, California. She has developed a device which projects a green laser beam and acts as a cue to prevent freezing. This device can even be attached to walking devices like the ACTIVATOR Poles, how exciting! I was also provided with Naboso insoles for trial and these provide proprioceptive stimulation to facilitate movement and coordination. For anyone who would like to learn more, her company is called NexStride.

Like most people that I met in Austin so far, the participants of this event were incredibly friendly and very open to trialling new devices such as the ACTIVATOR Poles. Many provided supportive feedback such as changes in their posture, arm swing and also noted that using the poles helped prevent freezing. It was an honour to participate in this event and I wish more people including healthcare professionals working with Parkinson’s had this amazing opportunity to learn about new treatment and device solutions!

Click here to learn more about the session and other innovations.

Big Little Ideas Davis Phinney Foundation – 10/19/19
Photo by Chris Ocken
Copyright 2019 – https://www.ockenphotography.com/