MIT students' 2017 tremor wristband wins FDA clearance nine years on
Encora Therapeutics won FDA clearance in February for a tremor wristband that MIT students first built in a 2017 class. The cleared use is adults with essential tremor, and in one trial 78 percent of patients reported benefit after 90 days of home use.
The Scientist · Science desk
What happened
- At the 2017 class presentation, a man with Parkinson's disease drew a spiral with much more precision within seconds of the device vibrating.
- Carballo described the working prototype as "a foamcore box with a Raspberry Pi chip and some wires coming out."
- Classmates and others asked where to buy one, and the students had to say there was only one device.
- The team became Encora Therapeutics in 2020, and dozens of hardware iterations and then clinical trials followed.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint The 78 percent figure is patient-reported from one trial, and the report does not include trial size, a control arm or the size of benefit, so it cannot yet be turned into an expected improvement for a patient.
- What it limits constraint The source describes the clearance only for essential tremor, so the Parkinson's case that opened the project falls outside the cleared use as described.
- What it sets up precedent MIT Sandbox, FUSE and the Venture Mentoring Service supplied the early support, but one success cannot show how many class prototypes never reach clearance.
The idea's own author voted against it. Daniel Carballo, now Encora's vice president of strategy, proposed the vibrating wristband in a session where groups of about 17 students were asked for dozens of product ideas [8]. He said it was "one of hundreds of throwaway ideas" [12]. The group picked it by a vote of 16-1, and Carballo cast the one no [8]. "I tried to explain to the team that this was so far-fetched that there was no way, in one semester, we would be able to make anything," he said [9].
The team found its test subject late. The week before final presentations, they met Michael, whose severe hand tremors came from early-onset Parkinson's [11]. "It was like a light switch turned on and his tremors stopped," Carballo said [10]. On stage, Michael told the crowd: "When this device is turned on, I feel like I used to feel when I didn't have Parkinson's disease" [3].
The demo compared device on against device off in one patient, over seconds. It shows the effect is possible in at least one person. The trial figure comes from a longer test, with patients using the device at home for 90 days [17].
The calendar is the part a student team can check against its own plans. The company came three years after the stage demo [15], and clearance came six years after the company [16], nine in all [7]. Dozens of hardware iterations and clinical trials sat in between [14]. Carballo, Allison Davanzo and Kyle Pina, all seniors in 2017, are the three founders still with the company [13].
What to watch
- Published trial details, such as the number of patients, whether a control arm existed, and the size of the tremor reduction behind the 78 percent figure.
- Whether Encora seeks or announces a Parkinson's indication, since the cleared use described is essential tremor.
- Encora's launch date and price.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives65
- Confidence45
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
In 2017, in front of a packed Kresge Auditorium at MIT, a man named Michael, who has Parkinson's disease, attempted to draw a spiral while wearing a wristband device made by MIT students in the 2.009 product engineering class.
- [2]
After Michael pressed a button and the device produced a subtle vibration, his tremors dramatically decreased, and within seconds he drew the spiral with much more precision.
- [3]
Michael told the crowd: "When this device is turned on, I feel like I used to feel when I didn't have Parkinson's disease."
- [4]
Daniel Carballo described the class prototype as "a foamcore box with a Raspberry Pi chip and some wires coming out."
- [5]
After the demonstration, classmates and others asked where they could buy the device for family and friends with tremors, and the students had to explain there was only one.
- [6]
The near decade-long journey began by using MIT entrepreneurial resources including MIT Sandbox, MIT FUSE and the MIT Venture Mentoring Service.
- [7]
This February, nine years after Michael's demonstration, the FDA cleared Encora's device to help adults with essential tremor, a condition similar to Parkinson's that causes shaking, often in the hands.
- [8]
In the 2.009 brainstorming session, groups of about 17 students were asked to come up with dozens of product ideas; Carballo's wearable vibration idea was selected by a vote of 16-1, with Carballo the only dissenting vote.
- [9]
Carballo said: "I tried to explain to the team that this was so far-fetched that there was no way, in one semester, we would be able to make anything."
- [10]
Carballo said of Michael's first trial of the prototype: "It was like a light switch turned on and his tremors stopped."
- [11]
The week before final presentations, the team met Michael, whose severe hand tremors were the result of early-onset Parkinson's.
- [12]
Carballo said the idea was "one of hundreds of throwaway ideas."
- [13]
The three Encora founders still with the company are Carballo, Allison Davanzo and Kyle Pina, who were each seniors in 2017 when they enrolled in 2.009; Carballo is a co-founder and vice president of strategy.
- [14]
In 2020 the student team became an official company, Encora Therapeutics, and dozens of hardware iterations and then clinical trials followed.
- [15]
The company was formed three years after the 2017 stage demonstration.
- [16]
Clearance came about six years after the company was formed.
- [17]
In one clinical trial, 78 percent of patients reported benefits after 90 days of home use.
Get this ledger inside ChatGPT. Ask about any of our stories and the answer brings its figure, each claim’s verdict and the sources. Free, no account.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- news.mit.eduMIT class project turns into an FDA-cleared treatment for tremors
1 article · October 16, 2026
Topics and entities
Follow any of these and your For You feed starts watching them — no settings page required.
Topics
- University SpinoutsFollow
- Tremor and movement disordersFollow
- Medical devicesFollow