Design of a Vibration Absorber System for Tremor Reduction in Parkinson Patients Using a Cluster Based Algorithm

Parkinson disease is a neuro degenerative disorder caused by the deficiency of dopamine in the brain and influences the brain control of muscles, leading to tremor (shaking), slow muscle movement and motion balancing problems. The treatment of Parkinson disease using passive control devices such as Dynamic Vibration Absorber has received considerable attention in recent times. In this work a new optimization algorithm termed as the Cluster Based Algorithm (CBA), developed by the authors for the design optimization of dynamical systems, is used to design the absorber system. It is seen that the designed absorber parameters which when attached to the primary system (Human hand) resulted in reduction of steady state amplitude. Moreover, it is also seen that absorber parameter sets converge to a cluster in the parameter space. Parameter cluster gives the designer more freedom to choose a parameter set satisfying the design considerations.