Parkinson’s Hand Tremor Simulator with a Double Crank-Crank Mechanism to Measure the Essential Frequency

This work aims to significantly contribute to collecting and analyzing data on hand tremors in patients with Parkinson’s disease, simplifying and enhancing the typical procedures of clinical studies related to this condition. Historically, the accurate measurement and evaluation of tremors in Parkinson’s patients has been a complex process that requires considerable time due to the necessity of obtaining detailed data on characteristic movements. Therefore, to facilitate these assessments, a tremor simulator based on a crank-slider mechanism has been proposed to replicate the hand trajectory in the typical tremor of Parkinson’s disease, which can be characterized by its amplitude, duration, and frequency. The latter factor is the primary focus of this work, analyzed through an inertial sensor and subsequently through the frequency spectrum of the obtained signals. This was done to validate the correspondence with Parkinson’s tremors, whose main harmonic is reported to be between 4 and 6 Hz by various authors. Tests were conducted with values within the desired frequency range, indicating the reliability of the developed prototype.