MIT class project turns into an FDA-cleared treatment for tremors

A team of MIT students turned a 2017 product-design class prototype into Encora Therapeutics, a company that developed a watch-like wristband delivering patterned mechanical vibrations to stretch receptors in the wrist to reduce hand tremors. The concept began when a demonstrator with severe tremors showed near-instant improvement after activating the prototype; founders Daniel Carballo, Allison Davanzo, and Kyle Pina then used MIT entrepreneurial resources to iterate hardware, run clinical studies, and refocus from Parkinson’s to essential tremor as a larger unmet need. The device aims to modulate peripheral nerves and send signals into the central nervous system to influence the same brain regions targeted by invasive surgery, offering a noninvasive alternative to deep-brain stimulation.

Clinical evidence includes a 2024 randomized controlled trial of 47 patients and a subsequent 59-person home-use study in which more than 70 percent of participants reported meaningful improvement, with one home-use cohort reporting 78 percent benefit after 90 days. Most users experience rapid, sometimes dramatic, reduction in tremor and report life-changing functional gains; some wear the device 12-14 hours daily. The FDA granted 510(k) clearance in February 2026, and Encora is scaling manufacturing, building a national sales force, pursuing insurance coverage, and exploring broader applications of wearable neuromodulation beyond essential tremor.