Parkinson's disease affects over one million people in the United States and ten million globally. Every year, 60 000 people are diagnosed for the first time. Parkinson's disease has a progressive nature, which means that it worsens over time. One of the most debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease is freezing gait. Freezing gait occurs when the brain stops sending the proper signals to the limbs, causing their gait to freeze. When this occurs, they frequently fall, resulting in trauma and injuries.

 

A radical treatment for freezing gait was born when a single person approached Cal Poly students and asked them to design a specific device. To tell this story, we’re joined by the company's founder, Sidney Collin of De Oro Devices, creators of NexStride.

 

The mission of De Oro Devices is to improve mobility, independence, and quality of life. NexStride is a small, portable device that uses research-backed visual and auditory cues to assist people with Parkinson's disease in overcoming freezing of gait.

 

About Guest: Sidney Collin has a background in computational neuroscience research, with a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology.

 

Sidney received the Cal Poly Outstanding Woman in Engineering Award, the Outstanding Student Award, and the Lisa Hufford Scholarship Award in 2019. She has also been named to the Wire's 30 under 30 list as one of the most influential women at Cal Poly, as well as the Pacific Coast Business Times' 40 under 40 list as a business leader.

 

Sidney graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering.

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00:00 Introduction

2:41 The story of De Oro Devices

4:12 The effects of freezing of gait

6:19 What is NexStride? How does it work? And how is it different from other Parkinson’s treatments?

9:58 Other types of treatments for Parkinson’s that can be used in combination with NexStride

12:26 How does NexStride compare to the standard treatment and other uses

17:38 What’s the cost of NexStride? Is it covered by insurance?

24:00 What's Next for De Oro Devices

31:11 The power of leading a company with the goal of creating social impact

36:29 Conclusion

 

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