Wrist gadget offers Tourette’s sufferers relief from tics
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a wrist-worn device that uses electrical nerve stimulation to immediately suppress tics in Tourette's syndrome patients. Families report that the technology is life-changing, allowing users to regain control over daily activities.
Why it matters
This non-invasive medical technology offers a significant quality-of-life improvement for individuals suffering from Tourette's syndrome.
Sufferers of Tourette's have lauded a wrist gadget that can stop their tics immediately.
The device, which has been developed by researchers at the University of Nottingham, uses electrical median nerve stimulation to alter electrical brain activities.
Experts found that rhythmic pulses substantially reduced the frequency and intensity of tics as well as the urge to tic for those with Tourette's.
Users and their families have described the technology as life-changing.
Ollie Elliott, 15, from Cheshire, started making involuntary neck movements two years ago.
The tics made it "incredibly hard" for him to eat, sleep and drink.
"There's a period of it where I didn't leave the house for about a month," he said. "I didn't hang out with my mates.
"Reading and writing became really hard. I was out of school for six, seven months as I'm getting into GCSEs."
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