For decades, the German Parkinson's Association has been committed to raising public awareness of Parkinson's disease and supporting those affected in their everyday lives with the disease.

The Staybl app underpins this claim by closing a socially relevant gap - namely the previously difficult access to the digital world for people with tremor. At the same time, with Staybl, the German Parkinson's Association not only consolidates its innovative pioneering role as the largest German association of its kind, but also expands its commitment to an international level.

More than 10 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson's disease. But what few people know: Parkinson's does not only affect old people. From the age of 40, just about anyone can develop the disease. In other words, even younger people, who still want to actively participate in life, are affected.

We were tasked to support these people with an attention-grabbing and at the same time cost-efficient digital idea.

The most common Parkinson's syndrome is an uncontrollable tremor. As a result, even the simplest hand movements become a challenge. Writing. Reading. Eating. Drinking. But also, the use of smart devices such as tablets or smartphones.

The latter in particular makes it difficult for Parkinson's patients to take advantage of the digital age. This is because the tremor makes it significantly more difficult to operate and read on the smart device.

With the free browser app Staybl, which automatically compensates for any tremor, we are therefore making it easier for everyone with tremor to access the digital world.

At the latest since the start of the pandemic, smart devices have played an increasingly important role in the completion of everyday tasks. With Staybl, we want to draw the public's attention to the fact that not everyone can enjoy the benefits of digital mobility in equal measure. On the other hand, we want to make it easier for the more than 10 million Parkinson's patients worldwide to access the digital world. This is all the more relevant because Parkinson's is not a disease of old people but can affect anyone over the age of 40.

In order to make Staybl known as effectively as possible, even without a media budget, we therefore rely on a complex PR strategy involving target group-relevant media and influencers on the one hand. On the other hand, we also make use of the internal channels of international Parkinson's associations.

Staybl uses the data from the acceleration sensor to detect every tremor and virtually moves the reduced browser window in the exact opposite direction in real time. This causes the device to tremble, but the browser remains visually stable.

A first prototype test with Parkinson's patients took place as early as mid-2020. This was followed by virtual UX testing in spring 2021. Various tasks were used to investigate the size and sensitivity of buttons. How and where exactly menus have to be arranged. Which color combinations and font sizes are best readable for Parkinson's patients. And which browser features are particularly relevant for the target group. All the findings flowed into a beta version, which was tested again with patients in the U.S. and Germany at the end of 2021.

Since the beginning of March 2022, Staybl has been available free of charge and internationally in the App Store.

Although the app has only been available since the beginning of April, the international media response has been huge and consistently positive. All contributions combined, we have more than 248 million impressions so far – and the news coverage is only getting started. This enabled the German Parkinson's Association to underline its pioneering role as an innovative and proactive institution both nationally and internationally - and to effectively place the topic of Parkinson's in the public eye without any media budget.

As the app was launched only a few weeks before this submission, there are no meaningful figures yet in terms of downloads, impressions and website visits. However, the consistently positive comments in the App Store confirm that Staybl serves a truly relevant need in the target group - and that the app actually helps people with tremor finally access the Internet via smart devices.