Interviews

VILIM ball against Parkinson’s disease hand tremors

An interview with VILIM ball against Parkinson’s disease hand tremors on November 4, 2024

 

Biography/Please tell me a little about your background.

VILIMED is a medical technology company located in Lithuania, Northern Europe. We developed a groundbreaking medical device to reduce hand tremors in patients with Essential Tremors and Parkinson’s disease – the VILIM ball.

VILIMED leveraged years of research into the mechanical stimulation of nerves in the human body to create this innovative solution. Despite its seemingly simple and playful appearance, the VILIM ball represents a significant technological advancement, incorporating a full spectrum of cutting-edge innovations.

The idea for the VILIM ball came from CEO Mantas Venslauskas’ PhD thesis on rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes treatment with mechanical stimulations. The research conducted in cooperation with the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences gave a way to test vibration technologies with a wide spectrum of patients, some of whom were experiencing hand tremors. The findings led to a conclusion – the device reduced symptoms for hand tremor patients. Since then, the VILIMED team shifted their focus to this field with one goal – to help patients with hand tremors.

With other team members CPO Andrius Juknevičius (MS of Biomedical Engineering) and CTO Edvinas Litvinas (MS of Data analytics – Mathematics), the company’s CEO underwent a five years long journey through research, development and certification process. Despite its initial simplicity, constant improvements transformed the prototype into a complex device that integrates artificial intelligence algorithms with state-of-the-art technology.

 

Can you tell me more about your product that helps patients with Parkinson’s disease?

VILIM ball is a breakthrough device for hand tremor reduction. It is the first and the only CE-marked medical device for hand tremor reduction.

The device’s working principle is based on hand nerve stimulation through mechanical vibrations. VILIM ball implements artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that analyze tremors and adapt to each patient individually.

Therapy gives patients with Essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease relief from the symptoms for the time they need to perform ordinary-life tasks, such as eating, writing, using a computer, etc. It is a lightweight, quiet, easy-to-use device that you can carry with you and carry out your therapy in a place convenient to you.

The proposed therapy time is 10 minutes per hand, three times daily at intervals of 4 hours. To evaluate efficacy for each patient the device should be used for at least 14 days.

The tremor reduction effect can vary widely and depend on the individual characteristics of each person. In practice, we have noticed that it can last from a few minutes to a few hours.

 

What is your company’s vision?

Our company’s vision is to develop a tool that detects the signs of movement disorders (Parkinson’s disease, Essential tremors and etc.) and to develop tools that not only help to reduce their symptoms (e.g. hand tremors, stagnation) but also to eliminate them for good. We are well on our way to achieving our vision.

 

What is your passion and motivation?

Although the VILIMED company has won many awards in Lithuania and abroad and received an important investment to expand the company, the greatest motivation and pride comes from receiving positive customer feedback. “This is our biggest driving force behind the company’s growth and development. This is why the VILIM ball is constantly being developed and improved. We hope one day to offer a solution to reduce hand tremors that work for everyone.” – CEO Mantas Venslauskas.

As a result, the company also develops new products. We created a mobile application called STEADY HANDS. It’s a tremor meter that helps to identify the origin of hand tremors, monitor your tremor progress during treatment (VILIM ball treatment, medications, etc.), and identify areas for improvement. It is a very useful tool already used by thousands of users, including doctors. It is still free and can be downloaded here:
AppStore https://apple.co/3Nkogvw
Google Play  https://bit.ly/3CiwWwg.

In addition, new projects/devices for Parkinson’s patients are under development.

 

How can someone get in touch?  What is your website?

www.vilimed.com

Email karolina@vilimed.com or info@vilimed.com

 

How can others also become advocates for awareness?

We value real VILIM ball users and their stories. So anyone who uses our device or has one in their circle of relatives and wants to share their story is very important to us and can be our advocate for awareness.

Current advocates (ones who use the device) share their successful experiences on social media, support groups, books, personal blogs etc. Also, we have doctors who recommend our devices to their patients.

 

In your opinion, what is the key to effective advocacy? 

True people and the true story behind them. Effective advocacy can only happen when people have tried our device (or have relatives who have) and honestly share their insights and observations. That is what we always strive for – true stories.

 

Why should people who don’t have Parkinson’s care about this? 

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common movement disorders in the world, and we never know when this disease will choose our loved ones or us. The more people get involved in Parkinson’s disease awareness, the more it will bring together professionals who will share their insights, and conduct research, which will help us to get a better picture of Parkinson’s disease, its causes, progression, and treatment options.

 

Have you had any family members or relatives affected by Parkinson’s disease?

Sadly, it is true that every VILIMED employee has at least one person in their circle of relatives who suffers from Parkinson’s disease.

 

If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?

“We hope one day to offer a solution to reduce hand tremors that works for everyone”. – CEO Mantas Venslauskas.