Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association Speech and Language Therapist, Richard Cave, took us back to how Toyota invited Anthony Walsh, who is living with MND, to trial a human support robot, and how technology innovation can provide practical support for people living with this cruel disease.
Motor Neurone Disease
Motor Neurone Disease or MND, is a disease that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord that tell the muscles what to do. Currently, there is no cure.
Cave shared that its effects are that the muscles in the body get progressively weaker, such as in the arms, legs, and neck. Many people with the disease will also lose the ability to speak, and rely on using devices to communicate. A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is around 1 in 300, and in the United Kingdom, there are around 5000 people living with this very cruel disease.
MND Association and Toyota: Lights of Hope
Cave highlighted that the MND Association have been working with different tech companies to help those people with motor neurone disease to live their lives closer to the way they want to.
"More recently, we are thrilled to work with Toyota. This became about as the MND Association became Toyota's Charity of the Year. And so, we have been working with them for the past year or so, Cave shared.
Toyota's Human Support Robots
Toyota's Human Support Robot (HSR) is a service robot which aims to assist people at home and is one of Toyota's robotics concepts now under development as part of the company's global mission to provide freedom of mobility for all.
Cave said they are excited about Toyota's human support robots. He thinks this is an amazing move from a tech company like Toyota -- applying their knowledge to help people in everyday life who live with motor neuron disease and help their families. The speech and language therapist thinks that it is an incredibly useful technology and could make a real difference in the future.
"Toyota helped us trial new technology that could in the future be of significant benefit to the daily lives of people living with MND, and of those around them," Cave stated.
Read Also: Military Veterans At Greater Risk For Motor Neurone Disease
Anthony Walsh: Journey with Toyota's Human Support Robot
"When we talk about, what we really talking about is people," Cave highlighted. He then shared his close relationship with Anthony Walsh, a man living in London who was diagnosed with MND in May 2021, and who was Toyota UK's HSR first trial at home. He has a loving family and successful career. Anthony used to play footbal and at the loved to take his family to watch his beloved Arsenal play. Within months, he was in a wheelchair.
"Not being able to walk for the last month has been very hard to cope with. I've lost my mobility and I have to be dependent on others, which is not the sort of person I was," Walsh expressed in the uploaded short film of Toyota UK's YouTube channel.
During the home trial, the HSR was manually controlled by an operator and performed numerous tasks for Anthony and his family. It was able to get something from the fridge passing a tv remote, and used Anothony's voice to sing which had been 'banked' in advance.
Walsh highlighted that it was just the beginning of what the future might hold and what technology is out there that might help people with MND, especially those who do not have the support network he did.
"I think there could be a place where this robot could be there to help people in different ways with their day-to-day life. It gives you back a little bit of your independence, albeit you're still relying on something else. This robot would actually free up time for other people to not always be at your beck and call and to have some of their own time back. It can relieve a lot of stress in the family situation," Walsh commented.
Walsh left a legacy. He died soon after the robot home trial. As to respect his wish to raise awareness of motor neurone disease and the work of the MND Association and after discussions with his family, the short film was publicized.
Aside from the uploaded short film, Toyota gave Walsh's family the extended version of his everyday journey with the robot, for his family to have something to look back at.
It's a legacy that Walsh can leave to his family.
Inside Feelings of People with MND
Cave pinpointed that as MND progresses communication can become more difficult. Some people with MND may feel like they are becoming a burden to others, or may lose the confidence to do things that they once did. One of the missions of the MND Association is to educate and empower the wider community to better understand the impact of MND and how they can help.
Anthony's case highlighted ways that technology can support people living with MND.
Related Article: Toyota Human Support Robot Trial at Home Launches in the UK, Brings Assistance to Man With Mobility Issues
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Written by Riene Dimakiling
