Creator of Parkinson’s disease app is diagnosed with the illness

Computer expert Roger Eglin recently unveiled a smartphone app that he had developed to help patients with Parkinson’s disease. The program was designed to tackle one of the degenerative brain disorder’s most common symptoms: poor speech.

People with Parkinson’s often fail to realise they are speaking very quietly. They frequently mutter and slur their words. Communication becomes difficult and patients feel increasingly isolated. Eglin designed his app – which tells patients how their voices compare with background noise – so that they could monitor their speech levels and maintain better links with the outside world. Essentially it trains them to speak louder and more clearly and keeps them in contact with the rest of society.

The aim for Eglin, who leads a computer animation course at Portsmouth University, was to transform the lives of those with Parkinson’s. This desire has proved to have an unfortunate twist to it – for just as his app was being launched in August 2013, the 53-year-old was told by doctors that he had the disease.

The diagnosis devastated Eglin: “I didn’t know which way was up for the first three months. Then I realised I would just have to get on with things.

“It has certainly focused my mind,” added Eglin, who competes in triathlons in his spare time. “For a start, there is no question about which charity I choose to raise funds for when I run. I do it for Parkinson’s UK.”

One in 500 people in the UK has Parkinson’s disease – a total of 127,000 individuals – and 7.5 million worldwide. The disease, caused when brain cells that make the chemical dopamine start to die off, produces symptoms that include shaking, slowness of movement, speech problems and difficulty with walking. It is more common in people over the age of 65, although it can affect people at much younger ages. Around a third of those with Parkinson’s develop symptoms before the age of 65, and one in 100 before the age of 40. There is no cure, but the drug L-Dopa can bring about major improvements in symptoms, though its effects wear off after four to six years.

Another frequently appearing symptom in the disease’s early stages are tremors, often in the thumbs. “That was the first symptom that I noticed in myself,” said Eglin. “However, there is a whole world of difference between thinking that it’s a bit odd to have thumbs that tremble slightly to being told that you have a disease like Parkinson’s. I am still trying to come to terms with it.”

If nothing else, it has given Eglin a new perspective in improving the design of his app, which was funded with help from Parkinson’s UK and which can be downloaded from iStore. “I designed it when I learned about Parkinson’s patients’ problems with speech. They often require speech therapy to put it right but a therapist’s time is very limited. The app would allow them to correct their lack of volume in their speech and at least help them stay in communication with the rest of the world.

“But now I realise that the app is not as user friendly as it should be. I need to add a game to it to get people hooked and to start them using it in earnest.”

Eglin, who is married with two daughters, is taking L-Dopa which, he said, had improved his symptoms. “I am hoping that at best I have another 10 years of active life left. That’s plenty of time to improve the app, if nothing else.”

Find out more at www.parkinsons.org.uk/research