Google acquires the company behind the Parkinson’s-aiding smart spoon

The smart spoon is a fantastic idea, on a number of levels. To be fair, Google didn’t come up with it; the original “smart spoon” actually debuted more than a year ago, designed by a startup named Lift Labs. Regardless, Google saw the technology’s promise, and this week announced that it has bought the company and its LiftWare spoon, a surprisingly sophisticated piece of table-tech that steadies itself even in a violently shaking hand. The smart spoon could improve the lives of millions of people dealing with Parkinson’s and similar illnesses, but it should also pay dividends for Google’s many other ambitious projects.

Google is throwing its money, brain power and technology at the humble spoon. But these spoons (don’t call them spoogles) are a bit more than your basic utensil: Using hundreds of algorithms, they allow people with essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease to eat without spilling. The technology senses how a hand is shaking and makes instant adjustments to stay balanced. In clinical trials, the Liftware spoons reduced shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76 percent. “We want to help people in their daily lives today and hopefully increase understanding of disease in the long run,” Google spokesperson Katelin Jabbari said. Other adaptive devices have been developed to help people with tremors — rocker knives, weighted utensils, pen grips. But until now, experts say, technology has not been used in this way. “It’s totally novel,” said UC San Francisco Medical Center neurologist Dr. Jill Ostrem, who specializes in movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease and essential tremors. She helped advise the inventors and says the device, which has a fork attachment, has been a remarkable asset for some of her patients.