Best mouse for a person with trembling hands

Hi Will

I use and can recommend a Kensington Orbit optical trackball (to replace an ageing and wrist-hurting Logitech scrollwheel mouse). I got used to it very quickly. It doesn't move around on the desk, and doesn't require a mousepad.

The "click" is a little louder than you might expect, and you do have to take out the ball and clean dust off the contacts pretty regularly, but other than that, it's a great (and inexpensive) rodent.

Matt

We had similar problems with an (older) employee at work and tried a couple of things.

A track ball ended up beeing the best choice for him, one with the ball at the top, NOT a thumb ball. He uses the logitech marble mouse ( that's a trackball) and it seems to work fine.

Hope that helps....

Montrose Secam has utilized technology GIVEN them by IBM to develop a mouse controller for persons afflicted by what is known as Essential Tremor. This includes people with Parkinson's disease and other hand and arm tremor conditions.

What they have is an adjustable controller box you plug YOUR mouse into - they now have a USB model

I located this for a friend who could type but could not control her mouse due to hand tremor.

I think the cost+ship is around USD $120± from the UK via PayPal

Look at the mouse controller here:

http://www.montrosesecam.com/index1.html

I hope this helps

/m

I would recommend the Microsoft Optical Trackball. It has been a bit of a relief for people like my grandmother who just gets tired moving her arm alone. It only requires the thumb, fore finger, and middle, so not much is required, but maybe the constant thumb movement could cause tension close to the wrist (?).
Just a recommendation

Hi,
If your grandfather has the dexterity (spelling) to use a Trackball, then that would be your best bet. But be careful on the type of Trackball you get - i.e. make sure it's Mac Compatable.

FYI: Don't forget, that all versions of OS X have a way for a person to change the way a Mouse behaves in the System Preferences -> Mouse option.

Hope this helps,
Dan

Also, keep in mind that if your grandfather has not used a mouse before, it does take time to get used to it. For example, try using the mouse with your left hand, and you may see that it is not easy at first (especially at high mouse speeds). Even if you have trouble using the mouse with your left hand, remember that you still have much more experience with mice than people who have not used a mouse before. I think one thing is that it just takes time to get better with it.

You might also want to consider a drawing tablet where you can control the mouse with a pen. Many people find this more natural since they write with pens. A larger drawing tablet would be better in this situation since accuracy is a problem. Also keep in mind drawing tablets also take time to get used to. I mainly use a drawing tablet for Photoshop work, and after I used it for a few weeks, I can work great with it (it was much harder to work with at first than I thought it was going to be). Many people with arthritis or repetitive stress injuries also find drawing tablets great.

It's also worth remembering that there are some helpful controls under the Universal Access preference pane, and for those with trembling hands under the 'mouse' tab there's a control that allows the user to set a delay between initial mouse movement and the time that the pointer starts moving. That won't help where the primary issue is limited space (as in this case perhaps) but should help a bit for those with unsteady hands.

There was a link given here on Apple Discussions a few months back to a company making a couple of mouses (mice?) with an almost 'orthopaedic' approach to their form. One of them, at least, was used with the hand in a more edge-on orientation (sort of like a shaking-hands angle - no pun inteneded - rather than palm-down with the wrist twisted) - I imagine that this could be operated with a bit more more weight resting on the hand, which might possibly help to keep the hand steadier? Whether or not it's any better at not jumping the cursor about when you put it back down again, I really don't know.
Unfortunately I can't find the url now - does anyone else remember seeing this?

Are you thinking of the VERTICAL Mouse? I read about those, too, and thought one would be ergonomically great . . . So bought one.

I lasted about 3 days and gave up. In theory, they're great. But I don't think they're good unless you have large hands. They sure don't seem to be made for women. I have small hands and where the mouse hits as it rests against my thumb/fleshy area of my hand isn't comfortable and in fact, after a while hurts. I think the mouse is just too big for me. You need a wide hand.

And your arm has to rest on your desk at exactly the right angle or the thing is annoying to work with. I also don't know that it would be so hot for someone with trembling hands, because your hand is in such a specific position, your fingers in fact, could tremble.

Also, because your arm rests on the desk and your hand around the mouse, every time you move or adjust your position, you have to pick up the mouse and reset yourself. And it's clunkier to hold than other mice and sliding it around is clunkier.

I like the idea of the vertical mouse so much and I might use it from time to time as a change of pace, but I can't recommend it unless you know for a fact it will fit your hand comfortably. I bought mine online. Couldn't find anywhere to audition it live.

the apple optical would be your best if it was me thats what my father uses and he has pretty trembling hands

Interesting off-label use of the Secam mouse controller:

With a penpad attached, you can draw eerily smooth circles and free-form shapes - it sort of averages your gestures and takes the wobble out of your hand-drawn lines

You might say this was a trivial use for a medical product - but a demand by artists for the device could spur innovation and downward pricing.

/m