According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 50 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease. It’s an overall term that describes a group of symptoms. The Alzheimer’s Association 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report estimates there are currently more than five million Americans aged 65+ living with Alzheimer’s – a number expected to nearly triple by 2050.

How technology can help

According to an article in Senior Housing News, technology could revolutionize memory care in countless ways.

• Brain fitness games are one way to slow the development of dementia. These are played on computers, smart phones, tablets or other devices and are meant to help preserve cognitive abilities.
• Some cutting-edge work is in the realm of technology that can help people compensate for memory loss. For example, wearable cameras with facial recognition could provide people’s names as they approach someone with dementia.
• Technology that can assess a person’s cognitive load could help inform day-to-day decisions. This is especially useful because people with early-stage cognitive issues might experience good days and bad days. Depending on what the technology says about how well someone is performing cognitively on a given day, a person might be able to judge whether is safe to drive or perform other hazardous tasks.
• Researchers at the Quality of Life Technology Center currently are investigating ways that sensors in everyday objects used in daily living activities could collect information about changes in a senior’s cognitive condition.
• Other projects include a study on website interfaces that are easier for people with cognitive impairments to use,
• An investigation into how video, audio and sensor technologies can help detect depression in people with dementia.

According to carepredict.com, there are three major ways technology is transforming senior living.

1. Socialization – connecting residents to the community and their families with the aid of interactive, content-rich programs delivered through touchscreen tablets.
2. Health and fitness – adapt fitness programs to individual capabilities. Use physical activity video “games” such as bowling, baseball, tennis, yoga, etc.
3. Safety, wellness and predictive care – personal emergency response alarms, in-room activity sensors, RFID location finders, telemedicine visits, sensor-based data to determine changes in health, mobile two-way emergency response alarms. The next generation of technology being used by communities for resident wellness blends versatile, sensor-powered wearables with personalized, predictive care and safety reporting.