Nottingham University Device Reduces Tics, Says Katie

“It was absolutely life-changing,” said Katie, recalling the day she tried a Nottingham wrist device that helped calm her Tourette’s tics in an instant.

When Katie was a child, her tics left her bedridden for two weeks with a sore throat, affecting her sleep, eating, and school attendance. Now 15 and from Hertfordshire, she first experienced symptoms at age seven, dealing with constant movement and snorting sounds that drew stares.

“I used to make snorting sounds, but it was constant all the time, so I'd give myself a really bad sore throat and then be in bed for two weeks,” said Katie, and her mum Julia called the struggle heartbreaking and admitted she felt helpless watching her.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham and spin-out company Neurotherapeutics Ltd developed the wrist gadget, securing £1m in additional funding to commercialise it. A 2023 clinical trial of 121 people in the UK showed an average 25% reduction in tic frequency while using a prototype. Singer Lewis Capaldi tested the device prior to a gig in Nottingham in 2023 and was impressed by the effects.

Tourettes Action noted there are two versions available: Neupulse-C, sold as a consumer wellness device, and Neupulse-M, intended as a medical device for treating tics and Tourette’s syndrome. Neupulse-M is still going through the regulatory approval process.

“We are working diligently and as hard as we can to get regulatory approval for the Neupulse device as a treatment for Tourette's,” Professor Jackson said, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said that their committee would meet again to appraise the technology's clinical and cost effectiveness and publish new guidance.

More than 300,000 people in the UK live with the incurable condition, according to Tourettes Action. Jackson mentioned that users reported getting through wedding vows and traveling on airplanes without ticking. Emma McNally, CEO at Tourettes Action, said that users gave the device nothing but praise, noting it helped them visit cinemas and libraries or calm down during tic attacks.

Fifteen-year-old Ollie from Cheshire started experiencing constant neck movements nearly two years ago, which made daily tasks like eating and drinking difficult. His dad Alex said they were at a loss watching him deteriorate, and Ollie missed months of school while preparing for GCSEs after not leaving the house for a month.

After hearing about the device from the film I Swear—a drama based on Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson—Ollie’s family obtained one despite his initial doubts. Alex received a phone call from his son where Ollie was crying because his neck movement had stopped, with Ollie describing it as getting part of his life back.

Mylo, 17, from Buckinghamshire, took part in the 2023 clinical trial when he was 13 and was recently given a device as a gift. When he switched it on, he instantaneously felt the need to suppress his facial tics disappearing, stating he felt new almost.

The university is also testing the device in early trials for Parkinson’s disease to reduce tremors, and Jackson stated they are looking to launch a UK-wide clinical trial focusing on anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.