List of Dementia Assistative Technology Research Currently Taking Place
I found this list on the AT Dementia webpage. May be useful to see what research is taking place right now.
March 13, 2008
March 11, 2008
Dementia: A business model approach
“Dementia is defined as the loss of mental processing ability, including communication, abstract thinking, judgment and physical abilities, such that it interferes with daily living.”
(http://www.about-dementia.com)
Figures published by NISRA in 2003 indicate there are over 270,000 people of pensionable age (60+ females, 65+ males) here in Northern Ireland.
(However, Andy notes in his post in 2005 there were 236,300 people aged over 65 in Northern Ireland. Quite a significant decrease)
In Andrew’s post he identified what percentage of these people suffer from dementia as well as what forms of technology are currently available or being developed to help facilitate these people to place less pressure on the health board. I’ll focus on which business models pose most relevance in relation to attempting to integrate the technology developed by COGKNOW into the homes of people that require it. Firstly, in order to make COGKNOW a success in terms of having many if not all dementia suffers utilize the technology upon release, a greater level of awareness needs to be directed at the impact this disease has on peoples lives whether it be directly or indirectly.
After a little searching, I came across some information published by ‘London South Bank University’ which will help us relate how the EHSSB could attempt to roll out technology developed by COGKNOW into Northern Ireland once it has been certified for retail.
Looking at the first business model, it is rather generic in terms of it involving the markets to which a business operates in, what methods it uses to operate and finally the operate of capital it generates or is funded by. Taking into consideration the roll out of the technology developed by COGKNOW into Northern Ireland, the market would potentially be the percentage of how many of the 236,300 people who are aged over 65 that may eventually suffer from dementia. The calculation performed by Andy indicates that there are roughly 2000 dementia suffers here in Northern Ireland which sounds quite low until you remember Northern Ireland only has a population of roughly 1.7 million according to the most recent statistics.
Below is the presentation I found which details business models relevant to the health service.
Threats and weaknesses of Cogknow
Their are many issues that need to be addressed with the increase in dementia sufferers. Most of these are linked to our aging population. In the future the amount of elderly citizens will be out of proportion to the amount of people within the working age, this will mean a greater tax burden on society to fund care for suffers. It is important to realise a balance between our societies social conscience and the budget set aside to care for the elderly. The provision of care to dementia sufferers will become a hotly debated political agenda. For example is it more feasible to provide care in specialised units and should future sufferers be removed from their homes and placed in these units instead of providing one to one solutions?
Risks that specifically relate to the Cogknow project in the initial phases include.
Lack of care provider/physician buy in: These groups will have to be involved from the start to the finish of the development phase so that they will support the direction of the project. when the project is realised they will be the main proponents of the product.
Training: A great deal of the concept is based on technologies that will be out of a dementia sufferers scope. Care providers will need to be trained to high standard to provide the best benefits. Also specialist technical expertise will need to be made available along with support groups.
Face to Face contact: the cogknow project is there to complement the care given by care providers, under no circumstances should it be used to replace it. Unfortunately budget restraints may aim to do this, this has to be denied at every level.
Opportunities and benefits of the COGKNOW project
One of the most distressing aspects of the onset of mild dementia is the loss of independence. Once fully functioning members of society, sufferers are fully aware of their advancing debilitation. The COGKNOW project seeks to address this. As described in previous posts the Cogknow concept seeks to address the unmet needs of dementia sufferers. These needs were identified as memory problems, communication, physiological distress and lack of information. The needs were gathered by involving world-class medical and clinical experts in the fields addressing dementia.
The outcome will be that these needs will be addressed and the following benefits will be experienced
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The aids will help sufferers remember: the aids prompt users to take medicine, remember social events and even prepare food
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Offers enhanced social contact: the aids make keeping in contact more accessible and puts the user back in control of their social lives
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Daily life activities will be aided: the aids prompt user to preform activities that they used to do to relax or entertain themselves, such as peruse photos or listen to the radio.
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Aids will provide an enhanced feeling of security. Sensors will remind suffers to close and lock doors so that they don’t become anxious about their personal safety.
The greatest benefit to sufferers of dementia is that these aids will offer an enhanced standard of living. The elderly person will experience greater autonomy and will feel empowered.
Opportunities
At present the target market is fixed at the countries that are taking part in the trials, the greatest opportunity is the worldwide market. At present, whilst there are many cognitive prosthetic products available none specifically target mild dementia
With the population in all developed countries becoming older there will be an increased market size for products of this nature.
Once the concept is a reality, the benefits of computer aided living will become beneficial to non dementia suffers, many of the Cogknow concepts would have applications in everyday life
Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
In Northern Ireland, 16,000 people have a diagnosis of dementia. (Dementia UK Report. 2007).
The Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB) is Northern Ireland’s largest Board - including Ards, Belfast, Castlereagh, Down, Lisburn andNorth Down District councils, and has responsibility for the care of approximately 665,000 people who live within its area.
The population in the EHSSB is ageing. Almost 20% of the population is over 60. This pattern is similar to what is happening elsewhere in the Western world. The ageing population is a direct result of improved social, economic and living conditions as well as improvements in health and social care. The population in the EHSSB is expected to grow rapidly by the year 2010, particularly in the age groups 80 - and over.
The graph above illustrates the age structure of the population over 60 in the EHSSB area and the six District Councils. In total, the proportion of the population in the EHSSB area is 19 %, in Ards 18.7 %, in Belfast 19.7 %, in Castlereagh 21.2 %, in Down 17.0 %, in Lisburn 16.0 % and in North Down 21.0 %.
The older population in Northern Ireland, as well as the EHSSB area, is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. The graph below illustrates the year 2010, which is the year preceding the next Census, and show that the population over 60 in the EHSSB area will grow somewhat, particularly in the age groups 80 and over.
Currently, the Eastern Health and Social Services Board spends 24% of its budget on older people’s services, however, if the usage of acute services were to be taken into account this percentage would more than double.
The future of dementia treatment - Bionics - We have the technology to remind you!
At first glance it may seem that the future of cognitive prosthetics for the alleviation of the symptoms of dementia would follow that of other technologies and computer systems. Normally you would expect to see an increase in power and capability of systems as well as a concurrent miniaturisation of those same systems.
Unfortunately when dealing with dementia sufferers these “advances” may not confer any advantages and may in fact be disadvantageous.
Dementia sufferers and their carers, when asked their needs identified several key areas that they felt need to be addressed (http://www.cogknow.eu/overview/user-needs)-
1. memory problems of the person with dementia.
2. communication.
3. enough meaningful activities during the day.
4. feelings of safety.
5. information.
An increase in power and capability of the system would allow it to have many more features. But what?
Perhaps an evolution of the “smart home” concept (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Home) where every facet of the home is integrated into the system? A system that monitors all doors and windows, while simultaneously keeping the heating at a suitable temperature and ordering in new milk for the bottle that has just been used?
Unfortunately, with dementia sufferers this kind of system would be more of a hindrance, offering much more than was needed and perhaps, confusing the situation and the sufferer more than before.
What about miniaturisation? Here, it would be advantageous to have less intrusive peripheral equipment such as, sensor nodes for a buildings doors. Unfortunately, a miniaturisation of the control systems would be counter to the needs of the dementia sufferer. As it stands, a flatscreen monitor is reasonably unobtrusive yet can demand attention when flashing an alert and can display large, easily, understood icons. A second palmtop-sized controller is the right size to be highly portable, yet not too small as to become easily lost.
Perhaps we must take a quantum leap forward to examine the future in this area? Well, It can be said that the old science fiction fables of mind and machine being melded together are getting ever closer with the development of bionic eyes (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7216 , http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6368089.stm) and limbs (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5140090.stm , http://www.tfot.info/articles/1004/mind-controlled-bionic-limbs.html) that are connected to the nervous system and even controlled directly by thought (inductive and invasive systems).
Bionic Eye.
Bionic Woman!
So, it is not unfeasible that within our lifetimes that a dementia sufferer will think to themselves, “Where are my house keys?” and a more advanced internalised system will be able to interpret this thought, find the sensor equipped keys, then flash a visual mark showing the keys location in the dementia sufferers sight. Other non-verbal reminders could be sent to the sufferer in a similar manner, such as a reminder to take a certain pill along with a picture of the pill itself appearing within the sufferers sight. A system such as this would have the additional benefit of being invisible to other people allowing the dementia sufferer to escape the unfortunate stigma that persists in society regarding dementia.
Whilst we are at the stage of utilising mind and machine “bionic” interfaces to combat neurological problems today (http://www.thestar.co.uk/barnsley/Surgery-turns-Clive-into-a.3759804.jp) it could be argued that by the time an integrated system that “cures” dementia (perhaps an implantable backup memory drive for the brain!) are developed fully, we will hopefully have developed treatment modalities that can eradicate the causes of dementia. For example, investigations into the use of stem cell therapy to repair and regrow neurological tissue are currently underway - http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/11.21/01-stem.html .
Until such time as the treatments are fully developed, tested and routinely used there is a clear need for the CogKnow system, and even whilst treatments are being rolled out in the future there will still be less developed markets requiring a less state of the art solution to their problems.
Market potential
According to official figures, the amount of residents in Northern Ireland in 2005 that were aged over 65 was 236,300.
When we adapt the Australian study from below, we can see that 0.8% of these pensioners would have suffered from dementia, that would have given a potential market of 1890 customers.
March 10, 2008
I wish I’d listened more in French class
The following article has shown that being bilingual can delay the onset of dementia by four years.
I sometimes forget : does that mean I have dementia?
Dementia is more than forgetting. Think about the times you forgot:
- a person’s name
- a telephone number
- to buy an item at the supermarket
- the words of a favourite song
Why you forgot those things is often because you are distracted by other people, are
thinking about what you will do after work or have been in a hurry. You chances of having dementia do increase as you get older but sometimes you forget because of the 101 other things that you need to remember!
Dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease impairs memory but does not rob the person of all the memories of a lifetime. Many people with dementia can recall details of their childhood and early adulthood but frequently have difficulty with recalling events of the past day. Reminiscence can help in recalling past events and be beneficial for well-being
and provide a context for social interaction.
Memory helps us make sense of our life experience and to cope. A memory of past experience can help us cope with the present. Finding our way from A- B and
getting lost means that we will remember the next time when we have to do that journey. For many people with dementia remembering a previous role or experience
of an environment can become a means of making sense of what is a happening
now.
The lady in the care home who makes ense of her environment based on a memory of Atlantic cruises with her husband, does not go to her bedroom - she goes to her cabin!
The senses of smell, taste, touch and sound, also evoke memory. The smell of
lavender polish can remind us of helping our mother, the taste of a caramel sweet may remind us of a favourite uncle or the sound of a bell may remind us of going to school.
Memory is also related to what we see. Visual images such as flowers, familiar
objects and personal items can trigger a response and aid communication. The feelings we have about things also trigger memories. Feeling happy or sad can lead to remembering previous times when they felt similar emotion. Importantly the memory related to emotions can influence a persons’ well-being and affect all communication with others.
There is a difference between memory loss as a normal part of ageing and as a
symptom of dementia., but there are things you can do to preserve memory.
This article came from an Introduction to Dementia, written by The Dementia Services Development Centre, Northern Ireland.
