In its latest 2022 annual report from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that 8.5 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease, therefore it is of vital importance for science and medicine to find weapons to combat the pathology and delay the progression of the symptoms of this neurological disease.
A finding that will undoubtedly benefit many people was released this week thanks to an experimental artificial intelligence (AI)-powered facial expression recognition tool that allows Parkinson’s sufferers to control their participation on social media.
New digital tool
The commercial launch of the innovative digital instrument was announced by a Brazilian-based multinational pharmaceutical company with operations also in 22 countries and a creative agency. The invention can help patients perform facial exercises through social networks, controlling the commands on the device through gestures.
Those responsible for the creation were jointly between the pharmaceutical company and the creative agency with the support of the Brazilian Parkinson’s Association. Scrolling Therapy, an innovative application integrated with the social networks Facebook and Instagram, which, through the use of artificial intelligence, encourages patients to navigate the feed only using facial expressions, such as smiles, movements of the mouth, nose, forehead and eyebrows, among others.
The objective is to generate stimuli in the face and exercise the muscles, as a tool that can be complementary to all the treatments already carried out focused on the condition. Scrolling Therapy is available for free and globally on Google Play and is currently available for download in three languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish, while it will soon be available for download from the Apple Store.
Dr. Sebastián Porta explained that “living with the disease is quite complex without, literally, facing it in the mirror every day. That is why I felt very motivated to propose a technology that could support all patients through a fun activity, which is browsing social networks”.