The Alzheimer’s Society (UK) knows it needs to move fast to change the lives of people living with dementia today and that’s what its Innovation team work tirelessly to do. This year, the Society is supporting new projects through its Accelerator programme and is very pleased to announce its support for the smartphone app “How Do I?” The app can help people with dementia to carry out everyday tasks like boiling a kettle, by flashing up “how to” videos when an object is scanned by their phone.
The videos not only provide prompt for daily routines - how to make a cup of tea or take a bath - but can also remind people with dementia of forgotten memories, with loved ones being able to record an explanation of a photo, and the memory it captures. This type of technology is particularly important, as Alzheimer’s Society’s research shows that the number of people with dementia who are currently living alone (120,000 people in the UK) is set to double in the next 20 years.
“How Do I?” is the first of a number of projects the Society will be supporting in the coming years through its Accelerator programme. The programme, which received nearly 50 applications, invites as many people as possible - from all backgrounds and occupations - to develop products and services that will support people to live well and independently with dementia. Alzheimer’s Society’s panel of experts and people affected by dementia worked with the Society to select Accelerator partners who receive GBP 100,000 (approx. EUR 112,000) to continue to develop their product and bring them to the people who need them, faster. The Society will be working closely with the “How Do I?” team, over the next year, supporting them to work closely with people affected by dementia, to continue to develop the smartphone app and bring it to the market.
