Preliminary study on remote assistance for people with dementia at home by using multi-media contents

Abstract

We are developing the system that remotely support the daily living of people with dementia at home by using multi-media contents for bringing their peace of mind, for preventing their behavioural disturbances, and for guiding actions of their daily living, because a major problem in providing good care at home to people with dementia is that it must be constantly provided without interruption, which puts a great burden on family caregivers. At first, our developed system can provide dementia people with multi-media contents such as reminiscence photos and videos for instilling a sense of peacefulness in their minds. These contents are used in remote reminiscence therapy by using simultaneous photo and video sharing. Also, we developed video instruction system for guiding their actions in a toilet to help them. We evaluated the effectiveness of our system from viewpoints of relieving the stress of their family caregivers, and of the extent of their independence in daily living. According to the evaluation results, we discuss on essential problems to be overcome for supporting people with dementia remotely, and present our approach towards realizing the system that effectively guides and navigates people with dementia for living independently. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.