Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of six adaptive devices to mitigate tremor impact while eating in patients with essential tremor (ET), compared to a standard spoon.

Background: ET profoundly affects daily activities, including eating. Despite the market presence of adaptive utensils, there is a notable lack of experimental data regarding their efficacy, particularly in comparative studies.

Method: In this comparative trial, seventeen ET patients (9 males, 8 females; mean age 69, tremor onset at 38 years) assessed the performance of six adaptive devices versus a standard spoon. We used an apparatus that simulates the mouth, essentially a funnel strapped to the participants’ heads adjacent to their mouth. This setup was used to replicate the challenge of transferring food from a bowl to the mouth. Participants transferred couscous beans from a bowl into the funnel ten times with each device.  We weighed the successful transfers and spillage. The sequence of device use was randomized. Tested devices included the S’up, GYENNO™, a weighted spoon, Tremelo™, Steady device, and Eli™ spoon, against a standard spoon serving as control.

Results: Spillage rates varied significantly among the devices: the S’up spoon achieved the lowest at 6.11%, followed by the GYENNO™ spoon at 11%, the weighted spoon at 18.7%, Tremelo™ at 23%, Steady device at 25%, and Eli at 26%, against the control’s 27%. Despite these results, patient preference was for the weighted spoon, followed by the S’up spoon, indicating that spillage reduction is important, but other factors such as the feel and balance of the spoon also significantly influence user satisfaction.

Conclusion: The S’up spoon, with its deeper cavity, most effectively reduces spillage in ET patients. However, the weighted spoon was the most preferred, followed by the S’up spoon. The counter weight designs (Eli™ and Steady device) were the least preferred and had the greatest spillage. These findings suggest that while spillage mitigation is crucial, the overall design and handling comfort of adaptive devices also play a pivotal role in their acceptance and use. Future research should aim to optimize device design to improve spillage control potentially using components of different devices.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/evaluating-adaptive-devices-to-assist-eating-in-essential-tremor-patients-a-comparative-analysis/