Back in 2014, five years before she co-founded UK technology company Charco Neurotech, Lucy Jung was working on a project designed to help people with Parkinson’s through tech – when she was suddenly diagnosed with a benign brain tumour.
“When you become a patient yourself, everything goes beyond what you know in the textbooks,” Jung reflects. “I was intolerant to my medication, so I struggled a lot with the side effects of my surgery.”
The experience was eye-opening: “I promised myself that if I did get out of hospital, I would make sure any research I did had a real-life impact,” she says.
In 2019, she and her team founded Charco Neurotech – a company focused on creating non-invasive technology to help improve the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s. “We thought, ‘If there is a chance that we can help people with Parkinson’s, even to a small degree, then that’s what we should do.’”
Helping people with Parkinson’s to be “ready to move”
Charco’s central focus has been the CUE1, a small wearable medical device designed to help alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms. Affixed to the body in a non-invasive way, the device distributes fine-tuned vibrations that can reduce the severity of symptoms such as freezing of gait and slowness in those with the condition.
Explaining how this works, Jung says: “The device has a ‘cueing’ ability that can help with initiating and sustaining rhythmic movements. This allows the body to be in a ready-to-move status and helps reduce stiffness and rigidity.”
Launched in 2021, the device is currently being used by more than 3,000 people. User feedback suggests that the CUE1 has also helped to manage involuntary moment, posture and even sleep quality, says Jung. The device can be used on its own or linked to Charco’s CUE app – where people can set medication reminders and adjust the stimulation settings to best suit their needs.
The low-risk nature of the device is something that drew the attention of Dr Alistair Mackett, a movement disorder specialist based in Cambridge, UK. “I’ve always been interested in technology and how it can be utilised in health care,” he explains. After attending a Charco workshop and learning more about CUE1, Mackett began introducing the device in his treatment offerings for those with the condition.
He highlights that one of his patients reported “a measurable benefit” to their symptoms after using the device – without side effects. “Many people with Parkinson’s have to take a lot of medication that can have side effects, so anything that might help with that is really interesting to me,” he says.
“I have used it for people with Parkinson’s who are really struggling with symptoms – they need something else in addition to what I’m offering them,” he adds. “So while I’m not saying this is a replacement for medication, it may be a useful addition.”
“You need to find what works for you”
Charco aims to “bring smiles to people with Parkinson’s” – a reference to the common symptom of facial masking, explains Jung.
This has been a tangible benefit described by 67-year-old Elaine Payne, who runs a local support group for people with Parkinson’s in the West Midlands, UK. Diagnosed with the condition nine years ago, she recalls: “My first question was: ‘Is it terminal?’ I didn’t know anything about Parkinson’s.”
After her husband learned about Charco through social media, Payne connected with someone from the company who ended up visiting her local group to share information about the CUE1. “Around 50 people turned up – and we all applied for the device,” she explains. “Since then, [Charco representatives] have been up multiple times to check how we’re getting on, which is nice.”
Payne says she finds the device “very easy – it just buzzes away in the background” – and has noticed its impact on a range of symptoms. “It helps fine-tune your movements,” she explains. “I can smile and talk to people, my arm can swing again and my handwriting is a lot better.”
She notes that there is no one way to use the device. “We’re all different. You need to play around with the settings and find what works for you.”
For Mackett, this speaks to the complexity of Parkinson’s. “It’s such a unique condition – to date, I’ve never met people who have identical symptoms,” he says.
Looking ahead
In light of its early successes, the team at Charco is keen to undertake more research to learn how to optimise the device for people in different stages of the condition.
“What else can the device do? How are people using it? Who does it benefit the most? And how can we use that information to help the people who are not necessarily seeing the same benefits? These are the questions we’re currently investigating,” Jung explains.
Mackett adds that the team has received approval to proceed with a CUE1 study that will help them “understand more systematically the best way to use it”.
Jung and the rest of the Charco team remain committed to having a patient-centric and empathetic approach to their work. “The CUE1 is the first step,” she says. “But there is a lot more support we can offer to people with Parkinson’s and those around them – that’s our key focus in the years to come.”
This article is sponsored by Charco Neurotech, the technology company behind the CUE1 – a wearable medical device designed to help alleviate gait impairment and support movement in people with Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s Europe is sharing this article for information purposes only; it does not represent Parkinson’s Europe’s views and is not an endorsement by Parkinson’s Europe of any particular treatments, therapies or products.
