# Predicting tremor: Developing a validated, subject-specific model of tremor

> **NIH NIH R15** · BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $444,507

## Abstract

Project Summary
Tremor is the most common movement disorder, estimated to affect at least 6-9% of persons aged 60 or older
in the US. Most tremor disorders manifest as oscillations of the upper limbs at rest, while maintaining a
posture, and/or while moving, making activities of daily living (eating, clothing, grooming, etc.) difficult or
impossible. Medication and surgical interventions are only partially effective, and only in a subset of patients,
leaving many patients without effective treatment options. Surprisingly, there are few tremor-suppressing
devices available to patients. One might envision, for example, a wearable upper limb device (e.g. an orthosis)
specifically designed to suppress (mechanically low-pass filter) tremor in ET patients. However, a significant
obstacle to developing effective tremor-suppressing devices is that we do not currently know where (which
muscles/joints) to intervene because we do not have a way of determining which muscles and joints are most
responsible for a patient’s tremor.
The purpose of this work is to develop validated, subject-specific models of tremor to 1) predict tremor, 2)
understand how the neuromusculoskeletal system affects tremor, 3) determine which muscles and joints are
most responsible for tremor at the hand, where it has the most impact on daily life, and ultimately 4) optimize
tremor suppression.
Although motivated in the context of the most common movement disorder (Essential Tremor), most of this
work applies directly or indirectly to all types of tremor and tremor-suppression methods. By allowing one to
target tremor-inducing muscles, a validated model may improve the efficacy of a variety of peripheral tremor-
suppressing modalities, including wearable devices that filter out tremor, tremor “cancellation” via antagonist
muscle activation, sensory stimulation to disrupt feedback loops involved in tremor, and injection of botulinum
toxin.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10291668
- **Project number:** 2R15NS087447-02
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Knight Charles
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $444,507
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-04-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10291668

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10291668, Predicting tremor: Developing a validated, subject-specific model of tremor (2R15NS087447-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10291668. Licensed CC0.

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