HYCARE: A hybrid context-aware reminding framework for elders with mild Dementia

Abstract

Dementia occurs much more frequently in the elders who exhibit impairments of memory, thought and reasoning. In this paper, we present a hybrid context-aware reminding framework intended to help elders with mild dementia improve their level of independence and quality of life. Based on the user study in three different pilot sites, the reminding services are identified and classified into four types according to the nature and urgency. The framework with a novel scheduling mechanism is designed which handles both synchronous time-based and asynchronous event-based reminding services. In order to facilitate the interaction between the caregivers and system, we also provide a simple software tool for caregivers to create and edit the reminding services. Finally, we present some initial implementation results. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.