New device will help dementia patients maintain their dignity

A new device which helps people with dementia to keep track of what they are doing has been developed by Computing researchers.

The device, which assists older adults living with cognitive disabilities (such as Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia) to wash their hands, was developed in associated with the University of Toronto and addresses a major problem for people suffering with these debilitating brain disorders.

Dementia can cause people to forget the proper sequence of tasks that need to be completed or they lose track of the steps that have already been completed. The only solution is to have a carer assisting the person at all times and this dependence can be quite frustrating and difficult for the dementia sufferer to deal with, particularly with private activities, such as using the bathroom.

The new hand-washing device uses live video which works by prompting the person with an audio or visual cue when they forget which stage they are at.

Dr Jesse Hoey says, "Hand washing is a very important problem in the development of technology for people with dementia. Often they want to stay in their own home as long as possible, but they can only do that with help."

"Of course, the bathroom is the one place where they really want some privacy, so we want to develop techniques to help them there. Toileting is a primary concern, but there are a lot of ethical issues when it comes to developing a device that watches a person on the toilet. Hand washing is a safe and simple alternative for research that presents many of the same challenges from a technological point of view."

Dr Hoey recently moved to the University of Dundee from Toronto. He now plans to refine the device, so that it can identify when a persons' dementia is getting worse and react accordingly. Another avenue of research is using the device for other tasks in the home, perhaps tooth brushing, or cooking.

Dr Hoey presented a paper on his research at the International Conference on Computer Vision Systems where it won the IAPR (International Association for Pattern Recognition) Best Paper Award. The device is now being tested clinically at a long term care facility in Toronto.