IBM on Monday said it has developed a computer mouse that can help hand-tremor sufferers eliminate excessive cursor movements, which often prevents the elderly and others from using a computer. IBM has licensed its mouse adapter to Montrose Secam Ltd., a small British electronics company that plans to manufacture and sell the device for less than $100.
Uncontrollable tremors of the limbs, most often the hands, afflict about 10 million Americans, with 4 percent of them under the age of 60, according to the International Essential Tremor Foundation, based in Lenexa, Kan. The condition often starts at the age of 45. Among the more famous sufferers of the condition was actress Katherine Hepburn, who had uncontrollable tremors of the head. Researchers do not know what causes the condition, and there"s no cure.