Simple hacks for life with Parkinson's
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0:01 - 0:04In India, we have these huge families.
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0:04 - 0:06I bet a lot of you all
must have heard about it. -
0:06 - 0:09Which means that there are
a lot of family events. -
0:10 - 0:14So as a child, my parents
used to drag me to these family events. -
0:14 - 0:17But the one thing
that I always looked forward to -
0:17 - 0:19was playing around with my cousins.
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0:20 - 0:22And there was always this one uncle
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0:22 - 0:24who used to be there,
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0:24 - 0:26always ready, jumping around with us,
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0:26 - 0:27having games for us,
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0:27 - 0:30making us kids have the time of our lives.
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0:31 - 0:33This man was extremely successful:
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0:33 - 0:35he was confident and powerful.
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0:36 - 0:40But then I saw this hale and hearty person
deteriorate in health. -
0:41 - 0:44He was diagnosed with Parkinson's.
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0:45 - 0:49Parkinson's is a disease that causes
degeneration of the nervous system, -
0:49 - 0:52which means that this person
who used to be independent -
0:52 - 0:57suddenly finds tasks like drinking coffee,
because of tremors, much more difficult. -
0:58 - 1:00My uncle started using a walker to walk,
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1:00 - 1:02and to take a turn,
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1:02 - 1:06he literally had to take
one step at a time, like this, -
1:06 - 1:07and it took forever.
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1:08 - 1:11So this person, who used to be
the center of attention -
1:11 - 1:13in every family gathering,
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1:14 - 1:16was suddenly hiding behind people.
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1:16 - 1:20He was hiding from the pitiful look
in people's eyes. -
1:20 - 1:23And he's not the only one in the world.
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1:23 - 1:29Every year, 60,000 people
are newly diagnosed with Parkinson's, -
1:29 - 1:31and this number is only rising.
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1:32 - 1:38As designers, we dream that our designs
solve these multifaceted problems, -
1:38 - 1:41one solution that solves it all,
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1:41 - 1:43but it need not always be like that.
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1:44 - 1:46You can also target simple problems
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1:47 - 1:50and create small solutions for them
and eventually make a big impact. -
1:51 - 1:54So my aim here was
to not cure Parkinson's, -
1:55 - 1:58but to make their everyday tasks
much more simple, -
1:58 - 1:59and then make an impact.
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2:00 - 2:04Well, the first thing I targeted
was tremors, right? -
2:04 - 2:09My uncle told me that he had stopped
drinking coffee or tea in public -
2:09 - 2:10just out of embarrassment,
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2:11 - 2:14so, well, I designed the no-spill cup.
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2:15 - 2:18It works just purely on its form.
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2:18 - 2:23The curve on top deflects the liquid
back inside every time they have tremors, -
2:23 - 2:26and this keeps the liquid inside
compared to a normal cup. -
2:27 - 2:32But the key here is that it is not tagged
as a Parkinson's patient product. -
2:32 - 2:36It looks like a cup that could be used
by you, me, any clumsy person, -
2:36 - 2:40and that makes it much more comforting
for them to use, to blend in. -
2:42 - 2:45So, well, one problem solved,
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2:45 - 2:46many more to go.
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2:47 - 2:49All this while, I was interviewing him,
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2:49 - 2:51questioning him,
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2:51 - 2:54and then I realized that I was getting
very superficial information, -
2:54 - 2:57or just answers to my questions.
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2:57 - 3:00But I really needed to dig deeper
to get a new perspective. -
3:01 - 3:05So I thought, well,
let's observe him in his daily tasks, -
3:05 - 3:07while he's eating, while he's watching TV.
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3:08 - 3:12And then, when I was actually
observing him walking to his dining table, -
3:12 - 3:17it struck me, this man who finds it
so difficult to walk on flat land, -
3:17 - 3:19how does he climb a staircase?
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3:19 - 3:23Because in India we do not have
a fancy rail that takes you up a staircase -
3:23 - 3:25like in the developed countries.
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3:25 - 3:27One actually has to climb the stairs.
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3:28 - 3:29So he told me,
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3:29 - 3:31"Well, let me show you how I do it."
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3:32 - 3:34Let's take a look at what I saw.
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3:37 - 3:40So he took really long
to reach this position, -
3:40 - 3:41and then all this while, I'm thinking,
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3:42 - 3:43"Oh my God, is he really going to do it?
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3:43 - 3:46Is he really, really going to do it
without his walker?" -
3:46 - 3:48And then ...
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3:50 - 3:53(Laughter)
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3:57 - 3:59And the turns, he took them so easily.
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4:01 - 4:02So -- shocked?
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4:03 - 4:04Well, I was too.
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4:07 - 4:10So this person who could not
walk on flat land -
4:10 - 4:12was suddenly a pro at climbing stairs.
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4:14 - 4:18On researching this, I realized that
it's because it's a continuous motion. -
4:18 - 4:22There's this other man
who also suffers from the same symptoms -
4:22 - 4:23and uses a walker,
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4:23 - 4:25but the moment he's put on a cycle,
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4:25 - 4:27all his symptoms vanish,
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4:27 - 4:29because it is a continuous motion.
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4:30 - 4:34So the key for me was to translate
this feeling of walking on a staircase -
4:34 - 4:35back to flat land.
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4:36 - 4:39And a lot of ideas
were tested and tried on him, -
4:39 - 4:42but the one that finally worked
was this one. Let's take a look. -
4:45 - 4:48(Laughter)
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4:49 - 4:53(Applause)
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4:53 - 4:54He walked faster, right?
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4:54 - 4:58(Applause)
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4:59 - 5:02I call this the staircase illusion,
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5:02 - 5:07and actually when the staircase illusion
abruptly ended, he froze, -
5:07 - 5:09and this is called freezing of gait.
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5:09 - 5:10So it happens a lot,
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5:10 - 5:14so why not have a staircase illusion
flowing through all their rooms, -
5:14 - 5:16making them feel much more confident?
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5:17 - 5:20You know, technology is not always it.
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5:20 - 5:23What we need are human-centered solutions.
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5:23 - 5:25I could have easily
made it into a projection, -
5:25 - 5:27or a Google Glass, or something like that.
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5:28 - 5:30But I stuck to simple print on the floor.
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5:30 - 5:33This print could be taken into hospitals
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5:33 - 5:36to make them feel much more welcome.
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5:37 - 5:40What I wish to do
is make every Parkinson's patient -
5:40 - 5:42feel like my uncle felt that day.
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5:42 - 5:46He told me that I made him feel
like his old self again. -
5:47 - 5:51"Smart" in today's world
has become synonymous to high tech, -
5:52 - 5:55and the world is only getting
smarter and smarter day by day. -
5:56 - 5:59But why can't smart be something
that's simple and yet effective? -
6:00 - 6:04All we need is a little bit of empathy
and some curiosity, -
6:04 - 6:07to go out there, observe.
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6:07 - 6:08But let's not stop at that.
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6:09 - 6:12Let's find these complex problems.
Don't be scared of them. -
6:12 - 6:16Break them, boil them down
into much smaller problems, -
6:16 - 6:18and then find simple solutions for them.
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6:18 - 6:21Test these solutions, fail if needed,
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6:21 - 6:24but with newer insights to make it better.
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6:24 - 6:28Imagine what we all could do
if we all came up with simple solutions. -
6:29 - 6:32What would the world be like
if we combined all our simple solutions? -
6:33 - 6:36Let's make a smarter world,
but with simplicity. -
6:36 - 6:37Thank you.
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6:37 - 6:40(Applause)
- Title:
- Simple hacks for life with Parkinson's
- Speaker:
- Mileha Soneji
- Description:
-
Simple solutions are often best, even when dealing with something as complicated as Parkinson's. In this inspiring talk, Mileha Soneji shares accessible designs that make the everyday tasks of those living with Parkinson's a bit easier. "Technology is not always it," she says. "What we need are human-centered solutions."
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:57
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Simple designs that make life with Parkinson's easier |