Touch-screen help for people with dementia

9th February 2010 - Elderly people with dementia may be able to retain some of their independence, thanks to some new technology developed in Europe.

Doctors, dementia specialists and software designers behind the COGKNOW project have invented a specially adapted computer and a hand-held mobile device designed to prompt users to carry out important everyday tasks.

An estimated 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia. The COGKNOW team says across the European Union tens of millions of elderly people with mild dementia could be able to look after themselves if they had access to the new technology.

Reminding device

Short-term memory loss is one of the first and most debilitating symptoms of dementia. It can mean that people who otherwise are perfectly capable of looking after themselves may need to be cared for.
Helping these people to cope with everyday life was the challenge that brought teams of specialists from the Netherlands, Sweden and Northern Ireland together.

The result was a flat-screen monitor for the home and a mobile “smart phone” with a simplified user interface installed. In both cases the devices are controlled by touching simple icons on a screen.

Home device

The “at home” device can be programmed to remind the user about daily activities like picking up the morning newspaper, brushing teeth, cooking and doing the laundry. To counter a common worry for elderly people who may be nervous about whether they’ve locked the door, the device can monitor this to prevent the user having to keep checking.

The device features “on screen” photos of friends or relatives, so the elderly user can keep in contact without having to instantly recall people’s names.

Mobile device

The mobile device features many of the functions of the “at home” appliance and also includes a GPS system to guide the user home if he or she gets lost.

The COGKNOW team say, although there are at present a number of different devices and solutions to help people with mild dementia, they are of limited value once the disease has progressed beyond a certain point. The project’s scientific coordinator, Johan E Bengtsson, says in a statement that “it then becomes a problem for the patient to remember where the devices are, and how each of them works”.

How much would it cost?

Both devices using the COGKNOW Day Navigator software suite have been tested in three European countries. There are now plans to look for commercial partners to further develop the technology.

The team estimates that cost of caring for someone with mild dementia is 10,000 euros a year; they say their devices would cost much less than that.