The Following is a summary of my interview with Dr. Michael H. Pourfar, a neurosurgeon at NYU Langone. He specializes in movement disorders and is one of the doctors at the Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders.
Initial Contact:
* Diversity and Technology (I do know the name of our class hehe)
The initial plan was to record the interview as I had done with my first interview; unfortunately, I realized too late that the software I was using to record was not working until after it was over. However, I will do my best to summarize the contents of Dr. Pourfar's responses to my questions which can be seen below:
Responses:
Common symptoms of patients with Parkinson's:
1. Motor, or movement-related, symptoms include shaking in the arms, legs, hands, and face. Stiffness, slow movements, and trouble with coordination and balance are also associated with this condition.
2. Difficulty with speech. For example, a person with Parkinson’s disease may speak in a monotone or quiet voice.
3. Other symptoms can include fewer facial expressions, also known as “facial masking,” and difficulty with writing, buttoning, or other fine motor tasks. Later in the course of this condition, a person may have trouble swallowing and experience worsening balance and frequent falls.
Common challenges experienced by Parkinson's patients when interacting with technology:
1. Technologies that involve fine motor skills.
2. Resting tremors can increase when performing low movement tasks, such as eating, writing or using a phone.
Feedback on eye tracking technology idea:
1. Keep the interface simple, considering that most of the patients are 50+, and generally don't have much familiarity with many of the applications.
2. Most of the age group tend to use a few number of applications. Having them available without moving around around while navigating will make life a bit easier.
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