I-CARE-An Interaction System for the Individual Activation of People with Dementia

Abstract

I-CARE is a hand-held activation system that allows professional and informal caregivers to cognitively and socially activate people with dementia in joint activation sessions without special training or expertise. I-CARE consists of an easy-to-use tablet application that presents activation content and a server-based backend system that securely manages the contents and events of activation sessions. It tracks various sources of explicit and implicit feedback from user interactions and different sensors to estimate which content is successful in activating individual users. Over the course of use, I-CARE’s recommendation system learns about the individual needs and resources of its users and automatically personalizes the activation content. In addition, information about past sessions can be retrieved such that activations seamlessly build on previous sessions while eligible stakeholders are informed about the current state of care and daily form of their protegees. In addition, caregivers can connect with supervisors and professionals through the I-CARE remote calling feature, to get activation sessions tracked in real time via audio and video support. In this way, I-CARE provides technical support for a decentralized and spontaneous formation of ad hoc activation groups and fosters tight engagement of the social network and caring community. By these means, I-CARE promotes new care infrastructures in the community and the neighborhood as well as relieves professional and informal caregivers.

Sustaining Our Relationship: Dyadic Interactions Supported by Technology for People with Dementia and Their Informal Caregivers

“…The I-CARE interface was developed in collaboration with PLWD and caregivers during the systems development phase and is meant for use in the community and an institutional setting without special training or expertise [ 35 , 36 ]. Nevertheless, the usability of I-CARE for community-dwelling PLWD and their family caregiver has not been explicitly assessed, let alone in the context of a global pandemic where in-person technical support is limited.…”

“…For the PLWD, the barriers were mainly related to their cognitive capabilities to engage with I-CARE. Although I-CARE is specifically designed to cognitively and socially activate PLWD [ 35 ], some caregivers felt their partner’s dementia was too advanced to fully engage in the I-CARE sessions. This capability was nevertheless partly dependent on the PLWD’s capacity on the given day, which dictated his/her level of interest and motivation, consequently influencing the level of encouragement needed from the caregiver.…”

“…Seven project partners from science, industry and the social service sectors collaborated on developing I-CARE as a tablet-based system that supports the individual needs and potential of PLWD [ 35 , 36 ]. In the systems development phase, the active involvement of participants in the design and selection of activation content was a central guiding principle.…”

“…Therefore, technically operationalisable guidelines were defined in cooperation with gerontology scientists, field experts, and industrial partners. A complete account of the content and development of I-CARE can be found elsewhere [ 35 ].…”

An Intelligent Coaching Prototype for Elderly Care

“…For example, the authors in [13] proposed a healthcare system called I-CARE using a tablet device to support elderly people with dementia, with personalized cognitive activation content and recommendations based on each person's abilities and needs. The system was designed to be used in collaboration with caregivers who guide and interact with the elderly person through each activation session.…”