Google rolls out 'smart' spoon to help Parkinson patients

Google is moving away from being just a technology company and stepping into the medical arena by working on a "smart" spoon that will help those who suffer from Parkinson's and other conditions that cause body tremors.

The technology senses how a hand is shaking and makes instant adjustments to stay balanced. In clinical trials, the Liftware spoons reduced shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76 percent.

Lift Lab was bought by Google in September and the tech giant has invested heavily in the development of their anti-shake Liftware Spoon.

"We want to help people in their daily lives today and hopefully increase understanding of disease in the long run," said Google spokesperson Katelin Jabbari.

According to the company, hundreds of complex algorithms are used to sense exactly how a hand is moving, and these send messages to the spoon to ensure adjustments are made so that the spoon stays balanced.

Essential tremors and Parkinson's disease affect more than 10 million people worldwide, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin's mother. Brin has also said he has a genetic mutation associated with higher rates of Parkinson's. He has donated more than $50 million to research for a cure.

The spoons are now available for $295.

"It's totally novel," said UC San Francisco Medical Center neurologist Dr. Jill Ostrem, who specializes in movement disorders like Parkinson's disease and essential tremors.

She helped advise the inventors, and says the device has been a remarkable asset for some of her patients, according to the Associated Press.

"I have some patients who couldn't eat independently, they had to be fed, and now they can eat on their own," she said. "It doesn't cure the disease, they still have tremor, but it's a very positive change."