Usability of assistive cutlery for people with Parkinson’s disease: a user-centred design prototype

This study analyzed the usability of an assistive cutlery prototype designed to facilitate eating for people with PD (PwPD), focusing on satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency. Methods: Thirteen participants used the assistive cutlery at home for 7 to 10 days. Satisfaction was assessed through structured phone interviews that explored perceptions of usefulness, comfort, and safety. Effectiveness was evaluated in a laboratory setting using video recordings of a simulated eating task, assessing how well the cutlery enabled independent eating without spilling or dropping food. Efficiency was measured through kinematic analysis of movement smoothness, using data collected from an inertial measurement unit attached to the wrist. Participants reported improvements in task performance and satisfaction. Regarding movement effectiveness, there was a 14.4% increase in the minute transport of solid food using the fork (p ≤ 0.05) and increases of 33.1% and 36% in the total and minute transport of liquid food using the spoon (p ≤ 0.05). Efficiency improvements included reduced task time and enhanced vertical velocity with the spoon (p ≤ 0.05) as well as increased mediolateral velocity with the fork (p ≤ 0.05). These findings suggest that the assistive cutlery prototype demonstrates good usability, enhances user satisfaction, and improves movement effectiveness and efficiency for PwPD. People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) may experience upper limb motor impairments that interfere with functional activities such as independent eating;Assistive cutlery developed through a user-centred design process can address specific challenges reported by PwPD;Appropriately weighted and ergonomically shaped utensils can improve task feeding effectiveness and efficiency People with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) may experience upper limb motor impairments that interfere with functional activities such as independent eating; Assistive cutlery developed through a user-centred design process can address specific challenges reported by PwPD; Appropriately weighted and ergonomically shaped utensils can improve task feeding effectiveness and efficiency