This AI-Powered App Helps Parkinson’s Patients Exercise Using Social Media

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 8.5 million people across the globe are affected by Parkinson’s. For many of them, hypomimia—a loss or reduction of facial expressions—is one of the most difficult aspects of the neurological disease, putting up barriers to a significant form of communication.

To provide better tools to navigate hypomimia, Brazilian-based multinational pharmaceutical corporation Eurofarma has launched a project called Scrolling Therapy. Developed by agency Dentsu Creative and supported by the Brazil Parkinson Association, the app helps Parkinson’s patients slow the progression of their symptoms while performing an everyday activity of scrolling social media.

Scrolling Therapy, which uses AI-powered facial recognition, encourages users to practice making expressions for the recommended 45 minutes a day by allowing them to control social media engagement through facial cues. Different facial expressions, such as smiling, surprise or sadness, become controls that allow participants to scroll up or down, swipe or play videos. 

The campaign is accompanied by a short film explaining hypomimia. The speaker notes that, while the recommended physical therapy can help improve control over facial muscles, many patients struggle to fit it into their schedules. The app makes it easier to work the exercise into their daily lives by tying it to something as common as scrolling social media.

Finding social solutions

“Scrolling Therapy is a beautiful example of how we can use the power of creativity fueled by technology to help mitigate a very difficult problem—a simple solution that could help millions of people around the world keep what makes them human: their facial expressions,” Rafael Rizuto, chief creative officer U.S. and Hispanic Latam at Dentsu Creative, told Adweek.

“When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s almost six years ago, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to let the disease beat me, and I’ve done everything to keep that promise,” said Sebastián Porta, offshore services director for Dentsu Creative Argentina and a Parkinson’s patient. “I’ve personally engaged in many activities to stay active and fight back. But this goes way beyond that.”

The Scrolling Therapy app is available for free on the Google Play Store. It is currently accessible worldwide and can be downloaded in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

“When you are told you have a life-changing disease—like Parkinson’s—it is really important that you find ways to make yourself useful. The Scrolling Therapy tool gives sense to a disease that otherwise wouldn’t have it. That’s how big it is for me,” Porta said.