Parkinson’s disease is a widespread neurodegenerative condition that affects more than 10 million people worldwide. Parkinson’s patients struggle with a variety of physical symptoms including tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowness of movement. They also suffer from emotional distress and issues such as anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, their physical symptoms often affect their speech and communication skills, creating a communication gap between the patient and other people in their life. Currently there is no known cure for Parkinson’s, although there are a variety of treatments and therapies that are known to relieve certain symptoms.
Mari responds to this problem by enabling those with Parkinson's to manage their disease and encourage them in their day to day life. As a companion its ultimate goal is to provide patients with emotional support and the opportunity to develop their motor and speech skills. It is composed of 3 main components, including a stationary device, an app and an add on device. The main hub is driven by powerful voice AI technology that crafts individualized responses to what the patient says and communicates with them in a natural and engaging way like a friend would. Utilizing emotion AI, it detects the nuances of the conversation and can even detect when the user might have trouble speaking due to their disease. The data it gathers from its conversations with the patient is then stored in the Mari app to be viewed by whoever uses the app.
Mari fit is the physical add-on device that tracks the physical movement of the patient while they complete their exercises. It is a lightweight device that the patient can hold to help increase their grip strength. A strap for the patient to put around their wrist ensures the device is not accidentally dropped while exercising. The data collected is then synced to the app.
Mari app enables the caregiver or family members to keep track of the physical and emotional progress of the patient. The data is available in a clear and engaging visual format on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Users of the app are notified regularly about the patient’s status and can view details of the conversation Mari had with the patient as well as detected emotional and physical symptoms. For serious medical situations emergency contacts can be added to the system. In emergencies the patient can tell the device to urgently call their caregiver and this is displayed as an alert on the caregiver’s phone. The app can also be used by the patient to view their exercises in a visual format along with written step-by-step instructions and pictures for clarity. Mari app effectively facilitates communication between the patient and caregiver by allowing the caregiver to send voice messages through the app that are then communicated to the patient through the mari hub.