Affiliations: [a] Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, UK | [b] Belfast City Hospital/Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Laura M. Cunningham, School of Computing and Mathematics, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, BT37 0QB, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK. Tel.: +44 28 90368918; E-mail: cunningham-15@ulster.ac.uk.
Abstract: The population is aging and with this, the incidence of age related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are increasing. Assistive Technology (AT) is viewed as one of the possible solutions which can be used to meet the needs of persons suffering from PD. AT can enable a person to carry out a task which otherwise they would be unable to undertake independently. An AT can have many functions which range from helping people to use a computer, to monitoring someone's condition. Within this paper we attempt to categorise the different types of AT for persons with PD. Each of the technologies will be compared and contrasted and an overview of what is currently available presented. The paper concludes with some visionary comments on how the current levels of AT may change in the future.
Keywords: Assistive technology, Parkinson's disease, mobile phone, personal computer, touch screen device
