New technology 'unlocks' memories of people with dementia

People with dementia can be helped to communicate more effectively by unlocking their memories, thanks to innovative technology that has been designed by experts at top British universities.

Two systems are the product of ten years’ meticulous academic research by teams at the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee. Sanctuary Care, one of the leading care home providers in the UK, was a key partner in the development of the products launched by Dementia Life.

Dr Arlene Astell, Senior Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews, School of Psychology, said: “Communicating with others and carrying out meaningful activities are core features of what it is to be human.

“Effective communication with their carers gives people with dementia a way to positively express themselves and improves their overall quality of life.

“We have spent ten years researching and selecting not only the most evocative material for the systems, but also the ergonomics and how people interact with them.”

The Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid (CIRCA) system helps people with dementia by presenting a range of carefully selected media to allow them and their carer to communicate more effectively as they share memories that would usually remain ‘locked’ away.

The Living in the Moment (LIM) system offers engaging, interactive activities that encourage skill and creativity. To ensure that the activities were designed to meet their needs, people diagnosed with dementia were involved in developing the activities at every step of the process.

Sanctuary Care staff worked with Dr Astell over a six month period in 2009 to trial the technology in care home environments to determine the real benefits for the resident, their carers and relatives.

Dr Astell added: “CIRCA and LIM are the result of a programme of scientific research that involved more than 100 people with dementia, as well as their families and care staff, to ascertain exactly what stimulates their long-term memories.

“Our research found that we could very successfully use generic content to stimulate people’s memories. Generic items, such as a photograph of a beach, have an advantage over personal content such as family pictures and videos which have a right answer, for example, a family holiday at a particular place in a particular year. It can be upsetting for people with dementia and their families if they cannot remember the details of family memorabilia. However, there are no right answers with generic items and whatever story people tell is the right one.”

Martin Valentine, director, Dementia Life Ltd, added: “Technology can offer ways to augment and supplement human care for people with dementia. However, it is vital that any technology is sensitively designed with the needs of potential users at the forefront.

“Both the CIRCA and LIM systems have been scientifically researched for over a decade by academics specialising in developing technology for older people and have been designed specifically for people with dementia.

“Our systems are a collection of music, radio, pictures and videos that have specifically selected by the research teams. Both systems are touch screen and can be used by anyone with no prior computer experience.”

The Dementia Life system contains over 3,000 pieces of generic content from the archives of the BBC, ITV and Trinity Mirror.

Initial trials proved so successful that Sanctuary Care has invested in 16 units, eight of which are already in place with the remainder being installed by April this year.

Sanctuary Care’s managing director Steve Wood explained: “We believe in finding new and creative ways of reaching and communicating with residents who live with dementia and this system provides the perfect tool to do this. It triggers memories from the past and encourages residents to share their personal and life experiences with carers and relatives.

“We’ve seen first-hand the difference that CIRCA has made to the lives of our residents and we are now rolling the system out to all of our dementia care homes.”

Dementia – the facts

Dementia is a term used to describe a number of brain disorders that affects the way patients can communicate with their carers which, in turn, affects the way both parties interact with each other.

According to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, there are over 820,000 people with dementia in the UK – a figure that is set to rise to over one million by 2025.

Dementia costs the UK £23bn a year, more than cancer and heart disease combined. It is a growing problem as our population ages and has been described as “the greatest medical challenge of the 21st century.”

Every dementia patient costs the economy £27,647 per year, nearly five times more than a cancer patient and eight times more than those with heart disease. However, funding for research into dementia was only a twelfth that of cancer and less than a third of research into heart disease.

Approximately one in five people over the age of 85 and one third of all those over 95 will develop dementia – two thirds of those will be women.