A man walks into the pub wearing vibrating shoes – no, that's not the start of a joke, but exactly what happened to Rory Cellan-Jones. On this week's episode, the Movers and Shakers are looking at some of the new technology, from fancy footwear to rhythmical cuing devices, to look at what tech can do for Parkies. They're also joined by the author of a snazzy new guide to Parkinson's gadgets, which aims to separate steps forward from snake oil.
By Podot
Each week Rory Cellan-Jones guides us between the laughs and moans in the pub. To read Rory's summary of this week's episode click here.
Guest Biographies
John Pettigrew
John Pettigrew is a hat wearer, problem solver and serial entrepreneur. For the past 18 months, he's been at Parkinson's UK creating the Tech Guide, which aims to help people with Parkinson’s to make confident decisions about the many devices and apps out there. The Guide is built around a catalogue of products specifically aimed at Parkinson’s that are available to people in the UK. It launched in November 2024 on the web and in print, and the team are working hard on the catalogue and, especially, the reviews. These reviews reflect the real-world experience of people with Parkinson’s.
To view the Parkinson's UK Tech Guide online, visit techguide.parkinsons.org.uk. To order a free print copy, search for 'Tech Guide' in the Parkinson's UK online shop shop.parkinsons.org.uk or call the Parkinson's UK helpline on 0808 800 0303.
If you're interested in joining the pool of potential reviewers, please email techguide@parkinsons.org.uk.
We can’t tell you whether a particular product is right for you, but we can help you make a confident decision for your own unique situation.
George Chatzipirpiridis
George Chatzipirpiridis is the COO and co-founder of Magnes AG, a spinoff from ETH Zurich specializing in the analysis of human movement using AI algorithms and wearable sensors to deliver biofeedback. George holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich, where he subsequently pursued his M.S. degree, focusing on the development and tracking of medical microrobots. His doctoral research centered on accurately capturing the movement of micro- and nanorobots, which was later adapted to the study of human motion. In collaboration with Olgaç Ergeneman, George co-founded Magnes AG to advance algorithms for real-time, precise human movement analysis. Their flagship product, NUSHU, is a smart shoe designed for continuous monitoring of patients with neurodegenerative disorders. NUSHU facilitates personalized therapy and provides real-time biofeedback. Find out more about NUSHU here.
Carl Beech
Carl Beech is the chief executive of Spotlight YOPD but much of his time is now spent developing an invention that came about as he was trying to find ways of dealing with the symptoms of his own early onset Parkinson’s, in particular his speech problems. He found tapping his chest with a certain rhythm made him speak more clearly and he developed a prototype device to generate the rhythm, thus the Beech Band was born. Find out more about the Beech Band here.
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