People living with dementia are a hugely underserved group in so many ways, but dementia-supporting technology can offer better and longer independent living; Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at Alzheimer’s Society, explains how
Over the past few years, considerable progress has been made in dementia support and treatments, both in the form of new drugs and therapeutics.
The drugs lecanemab and donanemab, which have emerged in the last year, have been hailed as game- changers. They appear to be the first drugs to ever slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia affecting around 60% of people with the condition.
These new treatments have ignited hope of a better future for the 900,000 people currently living with dementia in the UK. They have also exposed the challenges we face in getting the system ready to deliver these drugs should they be approved. A timely diagnosis confirmed by specialist tests is needed to ensure people who are eligible can access these early-stage treatments.
However, there will still be many people who won’t benefit from these drugs.
The role of AI, innovation and dementia-supporting technology
In the UK, one person in three born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. There are ten million new diagnoses recorded globally each year.
Let’s not forget that this is a devastating, terminal illness. People need support, treatment, and care, including innovative solutions to help them stay home and live independently.
More than two-thirds (67%) of GPs in the UK would like to prescribe assistive technologies to their patients when they are diagnosed with dementia, according to recent research from the Longitude Prize on Dementia. Alzheimer’s Society is co-funding the £4m Longitude Prize on Dementia, rewarding the creation of assistive technologies that use AI to help people living with dementia maintain their independence. The prize is also funded by Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works.
The same research showed that half (49%) of GPs report the majority of early-stage dementia patients already use technology in their everyday lives, and seven in ten (69%) said patients with dementia are increasingly relying on technology as a memory tool.
This research echoes what we know anecdotally from people living with dementia. Many of them report adapting existing technologies to help with their condition, such as using a smart speaker for shopping lists, setting reminders on phones or bespoke alarms to remind them that the hob is on. One woman uses air tags to find her items when she loses them.
Digital developments to support dementia
These makeshift solutions play an essential role, but it’s not good enough that we don’t have tech designed specifically for this purpose.
We’re beginning to see that addressed through the Longitude Prize on Dementia, an international competition to drive the creation of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them to live independent, more fulfilled lives and be able to do the things they enjoy for longer.
Involving people living with dementia in this way benefits both the person and the innovator, who can learn from their unique individual experiences and create a product or service that achieves the most positive impact.
Last summer, the prize announced 24 semi-finalist products. This included The Dorothy Community, an app that provides users with a virtual ‘yellow brick road,’ giving people the freedom to walk around independently and safely without support.
Another semi-finalist, Simon Care Management, is developing an AI-based mobile app that uses geo- tracking to learn the specific needs of people living with dementia and offers relevant ‘nudges’ to support daily activities. For example, the app could remind individuals of a PIN when it detects they are at the bank.
Interactive AI software from Amicus Brain Innovations is creating a virtual speech assistant app that can fill in missing words. The technology uses speech and language processing to listen to ‘broken speech’ or aphasia, a common symptom of dementia that leaves a person unable to communicate clearly with others.
Technologies that enable independence
These technologies are incredibly exciting and hold enormous potential to promote greater independence among people living with dementia.
Previously, most purpose-designed dementia-supporting technology focused on carer assurance and monitoring. While this will always have a vital role to play, AI and innovation allow a move closer to independence. What thrills me is that we’re seeing designs coming through that aren’t static but adapt to the person’s changing condition and cognitive function and, therefore, enable them to remain in their own home for longer.
Still, we’re barely scratching the surface of AI’s potential, particularly in diagnostics. I expect to see huge advances in the next five to ten years.
Given the cost of dementia to society, currently estimated at £34.6bn per year, and the devastation it causes, we must utilise technology and the opportunities it presents to create a better future.
