London: An assistant music professor has created a device with unique therapeutic applications that can treat speech and hearing disorders and memory loss, among other things.

‘Sonik Spring’, a J. Tomas Henriques invention, is a 15-inch metal spring resembling a Slinky toy that is outfitted with gyroscopes and accelerometers to capture three-dimensional motion and provide kinesthetic feedback.

The ‘Sonik Spring’ also transforms recorded sound as the user expands, compresses, twists, and bends it.
"It's like making a sculpture only the recorded song or words are your clay," said Henriques.

He imagines patients who have a suffered a stroke or who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease doing exercises with the Sonik Spring that are tied to cognitive functioning. For patients undergoing physical therapy, he sees them using it to rehabilitate upper-body muscle functioning.

"Now, they may do exercises that are difficult to measure and boring. This can make it easier to measure and more fun for the user," he said.

"It can tell with precision if the patient is getting better. You can send the results directly to your physician through the computer," he added.


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