The development of personalised cognitive prosthetics

Abstract

Persons suffering from mild dementia can benefit from a form of cognitive prosthetic which can be used to assist them with their day to day activities. Within our current work we are aiming to develop a successful user-validated cognitive prosthetic for persons with mild dementia. We have devised a three phased waterfall methodology to support our developments. Based on the evaluation of the first of these phases which involved the processes of user requirements gathering, prototype development and evaluation of in situ deployment of the technology we have been able to guide the technical development within the second phase of our work. Within this paper we provide an overview of the first phase of our methodology and demonstrate how we have used the results from this to guide the second phase of our work, especially with regards to the notion of personalisation.

Technologies to Support Community-Dwelling Persons With Dementia: A Position Paper on Issues Regarding Development, Usability, Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness, Deployment, and Ethics

“…The development of sustainable assistive technology for persons with more severe dementia is a challenge, as is how to develop technologies in a way that will help to make the world a more “dementia-friendly” place [38]. Examples of assistive technologies that can help persons with dementia in their daily life are simple aids such as calendars and reminders but also more complicated devices such as robots that perform a social role or augment individual human capabilities through cognitive prosthetics [39]. There are companies who anticipate providing inclusive assistive technology solutions for older people, including those with dementia, for example, Alcove [40].…”

From Cognitive Amplifiers to Cognitive Prostheses: Understandings of the Material Basis of Cognition in Visual Analytics

“…For example, Nugent et al . (2008) and Alm et al . (2007) have developed stationary and mobile devices that include visual and interactive interfaces as test beds to validate their use as memory aids for people suffering from mild dementia.…”

“…For example, Nugent et al (2008) and Alm et al (2007) have developed stationary and mobile devices that include visual and interactive interfaces as test beds to validate their use as memory aids for people suffering from mild dementia. Czerswinski et al (2004) redesigned the Windows XP bar to support automatic generation of visual reminders to resume tasks after interruptions and reduce the difficulty of multitasking in some users.…”

“…Understandings of computer-generated visual representations of data being used as cognitive prostheses are less common in InfoVis than those of cognitive amplifiers, and are normally found under the label of 'assistive technologies' (Lamming et al 1994). For example, Nugent et al (2008) and Alm et al (2007) have developed stationary and mobile devices that include visual and interactive interfaces as test beds to validate their use as memory aids for people suffering from mild dementia. Czerswinski et al (2004) redesigned the Windows XP bar to support automatic generation of visual reminders to resume tasks after interruptions and reduce the difficulty of multitasking in some users.…”

Assistive technology for memory support in dementia

“…AT has been developed to support people with dementia and their carers to manage their daily activities and to enhance safety. Several reports describe designing AT for groups with cognitive impairment (Cahill 2007;Hanson 2007;Meiland 2007;Mulvenna 2010;Nugent 2008;Rialle 2008;Sixsmith 2007;Sterns 2005;Van der Roest 2008). Some successful AT devices like electronic pill boxes, picture phones, or mobile tracking devices are already commercially available but, due to the lack of well-designed trials and small sample sizes in trials, their usefulness and effectiveness for people with dementia are not always clear.…”