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Barb,

I don't know if the following will lead you to some new information re
handwriting, but I came across it yesterday on the InteliHealth from
Johns Hopkins.

"Biomedical engineers create software to transform wobbly handwriting"

Jittery handwriting is all too familiar to families and friends of
people with PD....the involuntary tremor of Parkinson's can sometimes
make handwriting almost illegible.  But what if a computer could
transform wobbly handwriting into penmanship that even a grammar school
teacher would approve?  Hopkins biomedical engineers have created
software that does just that.

Users of the system write on a digitizing tablet, and a wave form
version of the handwriting is fed into a computer.  A software program
then measures the characteristic frequency of the user's tremor.  While
tremor frequency varies from one person to the next, each person with PD
shakes at a relatively constant frequency.  The program then subtracts
the tremor frequency, in effect cleaning up the handwriting.

PD patients are not the only ones who might benefit from the technology.
Brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and even the natural aging process can
lead to pathological tremor, notes Nitish Thakor, professor of
biomedical engineering, and the principal investigator.  "We're hoping
that this software will be useful for people with (such) disabilities,"
he says.  The National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation
Research funded the project."

Sorry, I could find no pertinent date on the article...but someone else
may know of this project.

Have a great Tuesday!

Sharon E.