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I don't usually read all of the pd posts and have just recently found out=

about several recent   inquiries re my work.  This is in response to a po=
st
by Wendy Tebay and  Barb Mallut and should serve as a brief update on my
work...

This project is going on 6 years now and is based on (1) personal necessi=
ty
- I have severe akinesia and freezing gait and (2) personal observation. =
 =

It has to this point been quite a journey. I do have a background in
medicine (I was a Podiatrist in my former life) however I seldom mention
this as it is not relevant to my current endeavors.  Besides I want my wo=
rk
to stand on its own merits not receive credibility because of my
background.   Although I am an  amateur (i.e. uncredentialed ) investigat=
or
I have had considerable exposure in the media and now in more
scientifically legitimate areas.  The former includes a TV program called=

"The Next Step" , Cable Health Network,  PBS, KTVU , CNN and Swedish TV. =

Also on NPR  and in several Periodicals.  Most recently my paper has been=

posted by an Italian VR and Medical Research Lab and will be published in=
 a
book next month by IOS Press.  The Italian Lab site is: =

http://www.psicologia.net/   and a site which carries the KTVU/CNN  segme=
nt
is:  http://www.bayinsider.com/ktvu/newsroom/parkinson.html    The glasse=
s
which Wendy mentions are the principal but  not the only result of this
work.  These glasses which appear as ordinary sunglasses to the general
public are actually an augmented reality system.   They contain a tiny
projection system which projects moving lines on the floor as one walks. =

The device does enable gait - I've used it every day for over 2 years. =

However,  the device requires optical refinement to make it more user
friendly and I must go through the very expensive FDA approval process.  =

At this point I have just about exhausted my  financial resources.  In th=
e
past I have worked with the Human Interface Technology lab out of the U. =
of
Washington and we are currently trying to secure grant money to further t=
he
project.  Other areas of my work include a device which is helpful in som=
e
cases for transforming garbled into normal speech and most recently a sho=
e
which can impact on akinesia and frreezing.  I do own a US Patent in this=

area (very expensive).  In the course of this work I have created a
conceptual model which attempts to explain pd gait pathology on an
empirical level.  Some of this model appears in my paper at the web site
above.

 hope this answers some of the questions. =


Regards,

Tom