It is estimated that around 10 million people in the world live with Parkinson’s disease. If you’re not aware, Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that leads the person to experience shaking, muscle stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination.
One of the most renowned and inspiring people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), Jimmy Choi, went to TikTok to rant about the pill containers that his Parkinson’s medication comes in—despite it being for PD patients, it’s not really designed for that.
Another TikTok user saw this and was heartbroken, prompting him to come up with a solution to this.
To those with Parkinson's, even the simple task of picking up medication can become a great struggle
Image credits: jcfoxninja
Jimmy Choi, elite athlete and American Ninja Warrior, and one of the most renowned activists regarding Parkinson’s disease, has recently posted a video on TikTok, illustrating the struggle people with Parkinson’s go through when it comes to taking their meds.
In particular, he showed just how difficult it is for him to take his meds out of the container—a container that you’d guess would be designed for people with Parkinson’s, but no, it wasn’t. Hence his rant.
Elite Athlete Jimmy Choi shared his struggle with picking up medication in his condition
However, one good internet Samaritan couldn't stand to watch it and designed a pill container that's designed to help those with PD take their medicine
Image credits: brianalldridge
Now, another TikTok user by the name of Brian Alldridge was upset to see this, prompting him to take action. He learned to use Fusion 360, a 3D modeling tool, and, in just a couple of days, he designed a pill container that would be appropriate for people with PD.
The container is cylindrical and has a twisty bottom with grip indents. On the inside, it has this tiny hole that the pills fall into, so the user can rotate the bottom to direct the pill into a side pipe through which the pill is dispensed. The size of the hole is designed to make sure only one pill is dispensed at a time.
TikToker Brian Alldridge took an internet crash course in Fusion and developed a prototype
The size and accessibility of this container eliminate the problem of having to precisely pick out pills from a container that’s anything but easy to use for people with constant hand tremors.
Alldridge posted a video on his TikTok channel, explaining what he did and how he pulled it off, urging other people to pick up where he left off because he wasn’t able to test out his model due to the fact that he did not own a 3D printer.
But because Alldridge didn't have a 3D printer, he asked the internet to test it out and improve the design
Image credits: David Exler
And oh boy, the internet responded. The whole community rallied together, offering to print out his model and suggest improvements. The thing moved up to “version 5” in mere days, until the Hungry Engineer picked it up and improved upon it, sending his final version to Choi for testing and feedback.
According to reports, Alldridge has been working on getting this pill container patented to make sure that the design stays open-source, free and cheap for anyone to print out based on their need, and isn’t snagged by money-hungry businessmen.
Enter David Exler, a.k.a. the Hungry Engineer, who now has "version 5" of Alldridge's design and is working closely with Choi to make it better
The pill container design files have since then been shared on the internet for some community improvement
Image credits: Carls_Customs
Image credits: Carls_Customs
Image credits: Carls_Customs
Furthermore, David Exler of the Hungry Engineer promised to send 50 of these pill containers to people who need them if people donate 5$ per container to the Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson's Research.
News of this resounded through the internet, being shared on multiple social media. David Richards, one of the many people who shared the story in more detail, also went viral for it, being reshared on Imgur and Reddit and getting thousands upon thousands of upvotes and views.
It wasn't long until the story reached a wider audience, with many sharing the story online
Image credits: David Richards
This just goes to show how unified the internet community can sometimes be to help those in need. And if you want to finagle with the design and improve upon it, there’s a download file on Thingiverse.
So what are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below!
Here's how the internet responded to his community effort
