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Tremor is defined as an involuntary motion, which results from alternating or synchronous contraction of agonist and antagonist muscle groups. Tremors and their characteristics are important clinical symptoms used by doctors when diagnosing illness. In order to quantify tremor, we designed a low-cost system in which tremor was detected by piezoelectric accelerometers and the processing, presentation and data storage functions are conducted by a virtual instrument. The system displays the peak frequency (fp), the amplitude in the frequency (Ap), the power in this frequency (Pfp), and the total power (Pt). After the design details are described, the system was evaluated by in vitro tests, which revealed a linear behavior between 0,03-0,45 G (R=0,99862). Experimental results obtained in 20 normal volunteers confirmed the good features achieved in engineering tests. These results are in close agreement with physiological fundamentals, supplying substantial evidence that this device can be a useful tool for the evaluation of tremor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]