Flattening the Curve of Cognitive Decline: A Survey of Cognitive Interventions for People Living with Dementia

Abstract

In our aging societies, slowing and managing cognitive decline has become a significant challenge for older people, caregivers, andhealthcare providers. In the past decade, there has been an explosion in productsaimed at providing cognitive interventions for the elderly in response to the growing market need. In thispaper, we present a framework for thinking about cognitive interventions, and a product typology based onthe level of technology used and the amount of tangibility/physical interactivity that products have. Weshow how current products fit within the proposed product typology framework. We also note shortfallsthat exist in validating products in terms of their claimed cognitive interventions, and in regions of theproduct technology space that deal withproducts that have low technology and low physical interactivity.