Google's health unit launches digital spoon for shaky hands
Verily Life Sciences has debuted a handheld robotic device that compensates for erratic hand and arm movements. Known as the Liftware Level, the product makes it easier for people with motor conditions to feed themselves. As part of the recent launch, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and Teva Pharmaceuticals will donate 1,000 starter kits to people who could benefit from the device. Google, the owner of Verily Life Sciences, purchased Liftware from inventor Anupam Pathak in 2014.
People with physical disabilities face many challenges, such as difficulty eating, something many take for granted. But now Verily Life Sciences, formerly Google Life Sciences, has launched the Liftware Level, a handheld robotic device that compensates for erratic hand and arm movements, allowing people to eat without spilling.

As part of the recent launch, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) and Teva Pharmaceuticals will be donating 1,000 Liftware Level Starter Kits to people who could benefit from the device.

Level is the brainchild of Anupam Pathak who parlayed a PhD in mechanical engineering and an SBIR grant into Liftware, a company dedicated to helping people overcome motor impairments. Google purchased Liftware in 2014.

Their first product, Steady, helped people with hand tremors. Level accommodates more pronounced motions.

“The Level handle can calculate the orientation of whatever is attached in real-time and 3D space,” said Pathak, who is now a technical lead at Verily, in a phone interview. “For eating, we’ve programmed it to stay totally level to allow the user to scoop food. But in the future, we could have it maintain basically any kind of position.”

Daniel Stickney, who has cerebral palsy and field-tested the Level during development, has profound difficulty keeping his hands level. Without assistance, spaghetti was problematic, soup virtually impossible.

“When I had soup, it was really hard to get it in with a normal spoon,” said Daniel. “I had to lift the bowl. That’s the only way I could eat it.”

The new device means increased independence for Daniel, but it’s also a significant milestone for his older brother Stanford, who helps with the caregiving.

“Every meal, Danny would require assistance,” Stanford said. “Now, all these new foods open up. I’ve watched Daniel eat foods he’s never been able to eat before in his life.”

Pathak and his Verily team are excited about the launch, but they’re far from done. They see Level’s fork and spoon attachments as starting points and hope to devise a series of assistive tools to complement the device.

“We’re interested in developing attachments for other activities,” Pathak said. “If you had an impairment in your hands or arms, you could imagine the things you couldn’t do. We’re getting feedback from users, and we’re prioritizing and going after things that are really important.”

Still, developing a device that helps people feed themselves is no small thing. Daniel is passionate about how the Level has changed his life, and Stanford is happy to simply watch it happen.

“It’s hard for someone who’s able-bodied to appreciate the magnitude of independence,” Stanford said. “At one point he (Daniel) said: ‘You know Stan, I love you, but I’m not going to need to use you as often.’”

Photo: Verily