Provide Normal Living for Early Alzhimer's Patients by Heba Daghistani

Normal Living for Early Alzheimer's Heba Daghistani

“I made it just about half a block, I think.” -Alzheimer’s Patient

“The bathroom is not the bedroom, the closet is not the kitchen.” -Alzheimer’s Patient

Introduction

Strategy

System

The Context

Persona

Features

The Issue

Common Needs

Sign-up // Hospital

Design Opportunity

Familiarity

Log-in //Patient

The Method

Route 01 Sketches

Log-in // Caregiver

Concept Statement

Route 01 Issues

Planning

Route 02

Find My...

Creating a System

Home

Research Memory Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effect on the Memory Interviews

THE

25 28 30

System Icons Posters Role of Empathy

70 71 72 73 74 86 89 91 95 97

“THERE ARE NO NEGATIVES IN LIFE,

ONLY CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME THAT WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER.” - Eric Bates

How do we see these obstacles? How do we react? And whether we choose to grow out from them. Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disease is just another obstacle and It is your choice whether you want to be its victim or find a way to work around it.

INTRODUCTION

THE

There are 46.8 Million people worldwide living with dementia, 80% are Alzheimer’s cases. According to Samuel Cohen, Research Fellow in Biophysical Chemistry at St. John’s College, Alzheimer’s is one of the top 10 diseases that causes death and it is the only one that we cannot cure or prevent yet there is a lack of medical research to find a cure. Alzheimer’s patients cannot demand or speak up for themselves and their family members (the hidden victims) are most probably too worn out to demand for a solution.

THE

Alzheimer’s disorder is a progressive disease that leads to gradual lose in short-term memory as a result the patient’s independence and selfesteem are impaired. Thus, relying on a family member/caregiver to assist them in their daily life. The negative culture stigmas that surrounds Alzheimer’s is not forgiving either. For instance, in the United Arab Emirates (mostly the remaining Arab Regions) the disease is not discovered until it is very late due to its association with old age and It is usually labelled as “Kharaf” literally translates to “Loss of mind” or being crazy. Another cause is the United Arab Emirates’s law of forced retirements by the age of 65 leading to depression, loneliness, lack of social activities hence increasing the chances of having Alzheimer’s disease.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Whenever I start a project the thought that “design is for the people” always lingers in the back of my head. So I started researching of whom needs we disregarded, whose stories are we forgetting to tell, and who are we forgetting to create an experience for? My Curiosity grew toward Alzheimer’s disease because of the many negative stigmas that surrounds it. I started questioning whether memories are valuable, whether a person’s value is based on what they can or cannot remember? What if we focused on building upon the remaining abilities? Since Alzheimer’s is progressive disease then there must be a few skills that are left to utilize. What if the design would help embed information into their environment rather than separating them from the context? May be help them retrieve important information? What if design could help the patient adapt?

THE METHOD

Lisa Genova, a neuroscientist, recently stated that Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease could be prevented or slowed down by creating new neural paths. This could be done by maintaining the action of creating new experiences, learning new skills, meeting new friends and even learning a new language! When you engage in mentally simulating activities you create new functional synapses, backup connections that would outnumber the Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affected Synapses. Two ideas where important: first understanding what skills are important for the patient that we could utilize and develop; and second; to see them as real people that are still valuable to their families and their communities.

CONCEPT STATEMENT

To provide people with Early Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disorder the ability to maintain independence while having a substantial impairment.

The first stage of the research involved understanding how memory works and how Alzheimer’s disease affects the patient’s memories.

RESEARCH// MEMORY

“OUR MEMORIES ARE CONSTRUCTIVE AND RECONSTRUCTIVE.

IT CAN CHANGE BY THE INFLUENCE OF OTHER PEOPLE” - Elizabeth Loftus

Sensory memory Is our brains first encounter with the outside world. It takes a brief second for your eyes or ears to send the information to your brain.

MEMORY

Short-term memory If the sensory memory is relevant to our brain, it gets passed on to our short-term memory. This helps recall information that you were juts exposed to. Short-term memory is a fragile one which could be lost within a distraction or as time passes. Furthermore, information needs to be in chunks in order for our brain to recall them faster from the short-term memory.

Working memory Is another memory that tends to overlap with our short memory. It is what helps our brain to keep the information long enough to use it to plan or navigate. Your working memory is also what helps us to decide, to plan, to strategize.

MEMORY

Long-term memory If the current information is loaded with emotional experiences or the current information is rehearsed and repeated it gets transferred to our Long-term Memory where our brain keeps it for years and decades.

ALZHEIMERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EFFECTS ON

Patient’s Age

Stage’s Duration

Early Stage

Mid Stage

Late Stage

• Resume work and being part of social activities • Forget familiar words • Difficulties remembering recent memories • Anxiety and depression

• Impaired ability for daily life activities • Memory lapses • Challenging behaviour • Sleep disorders

• • • •

3-5 years

2-10 years

1-3 years

Reduced capacity to Make decisions Communication difficulties Immobility

One of the earlier symptoms is shortterm memory loss. The patient starts losing the memory of recent short events that occurred within 30 sec to several days. Early Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individuals may repeat questions within short time periods or they may re-tell the same story that they have told a few minutes ago. The longterm memory remains intact during the Early stages. Mid-Stage Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is when the longterm memory starts getting affected by the disease. Individuals may not be able to maintain daily activities on their own and may exhibit challenging behaviours. During this stage is when they start relying more on a caregiver or a family member to assist them. However, they still may learn a new skill if it the new information was repeated enough for them. Late Stage Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Individuals may no longer access old memories or even create new ones. They will no longer be able to move properly on their own or even communicate.

EMOTIONS AND MEMORY

According to Elizabeth Loftus, cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, our memory is constructive and re-constructive meaning that you can access it and change it but so can other people. We are surrounded with misinformation that causes contamination and distortion to our memory, media coverage is one of the simplest examples that feeds us information unconsciously. An information is not necessarily true if it was told with utmost detail, confidence and emotions. For family members who care for an Alzheimer’s patient, it is devastating to witness their memories fade away. We cherish memories because it represents who they are and our relationship with them. However, what if we tried not to correct the patient’s memory and instead we tried to create a new one? Would you rather to have an anxious

patient who is constantly corrected and lost? Or would you rather to have the chance to bond over new stories even if they were not as accurate? In the initial stage, my research was about understanding how memory works. Hoping that by understanding that our memory is not as reliable as we think it is I may be able to reduce the stress and demand from family members for the patients to remember the exact event. May be encouraging the family member to go along with the patient’s ‘inaccurate’ story; create a new one! Let it be “inaccurate’’ If the new story would make them feel more valuable, happy, and would give them a chance to spend quality time with their families. Furthermore, our memory is fragile anyway whether you have Alzheimer’s or not what matters at the end is how that memory made you feel.

MALLEABLE

The second stage of the research involved reaching out to elderly centres, geriatrics, neurologists, and non-profit organizations. Listed is a summary of common answers .

RESEARCH// INTERVIEWS

A non-profit foundation established by Desirée O. Vlekken dedicated into helping dementia patients emotionally and socially rather than focusing on the technical complicated medical terms. It was established from a personal experience, she established the foundation to provide support and knowledge for the patients and their families. A couple of years ago she was informed that her dad suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. She was lost and not sure how to deal with such disease. Furthermore, her being away from her family she needed a support system to rely on for proper information and how to support her family emotionally. Embarking on a journey searching for support, she discovered that UAE lacks a proper support system, lacks the knowledge on how to deal with seniors. There is no social or emotional support, elderly centres only accepts UAE locals, foreigners are forced into hiring nannies (not professional caregivers) to care for their loved ones while they are at work. No to mention the misconception that

surrounds Dementia and specifically Alzheimer’s. Unintentionally and due to lack of knowledge Alzheimer’s is labelled “Kharaf” which literally translates to “spoiled brain due to old age”. That negative labelling alone is heart breaking and limiting in the form of how to deal with the disease. Hence, part of her organization’s activity is stimulating the brain. She takes them into field trips, dancing classes, and weekly meeting to talk and draw. She learned from her experience with caring for her dad, that engaging them in activities is emotionally very important. It makes them feel valuable despite the old age stigma. What made her dad case worsen, was his retirement. He was forced into solitude and spending his entire day in a corner listening to the radio. Thus, another proof of how immensely important it is to create a social and emotional experience for the patient based on their abilities.

4GETNON-PROFIT

My visits always to the doctor’s office started with them being surprised that I am a graphic designer not a medical student who is interested in a complicated medical case. Every visit started off with them explaining how the brain works and how Alzheimer’s affects it. However, my main interest was understanding how the medical side of the disease is usually dealt with. How do they deal with the patients and what is the first step of action after the diagnosis. I also needed to understand at what stage the patient could still function without the need for a constant care. If they needed help, what is the most important task that would require constant supervision? Lastly, what are the copping mechanisms that the patient could use when they get diagnosed? In order to diagnose the patient, the doctors need to assess their cognitive impairment. Hence, tests such as mental status and neuropsychological are usually done. The doctor will also have to meet with close family members and friends to confirm whether they have

noticed any decline in their thinking skills and any change in their behaviour. Laboratory and brain scans are done as well. However, they cannot rely on brain scans alone to confirm as Alzheimer’s effects and old-age brain changes might overlap making it difficult to spot the abnormality in some cases. Once the tests prove to be positive, the patient will be informed along with a close family member. Depending on severity of Alzheimer’s stage, the next step would be suggesting a copping mechanism such as support groups and the use of sticky notes. If the patient is still in the early stages they may resume their current routines; they may even resume driving, as long as their progress is supervised. However, most cases in the Arab region and the UAE, patients are diagnosed toward the late stage; due to the misconceptions related to old age. Prescribing them drugs to control Alzheimer’s leaving the patient dozed off and tired. Thus it is too late to ask the patient to learn a new skill or even implement a coping system.

ASKING

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki decided to test how exercise could change her brain positively. A year and a half later she noticed that incorporating an active life style into her routine helped boost her mood, gave her a better energy, a better attention span and her memory and reaction time functioned much faster. She even jokingly noted how her grant research was going smoothly and much easier than usual. Furthermore, Wendy listed one of the most important reason to having an active lifestyle which was its immediate effect on our brain by increasing the level of neurotransmitters. It also helps in producing new brain cells. Remember where does Alzheimer’s disease first hits? Your short-term memory which is located in your hippocampus. Exercising helps increase the volume of the brain’s hippo-campus which in returns becomes like a strong

muscle that could withstand old agerelated cognitive diseases. Hence, the long-term effect of having an active lifestyle is the possibility of delaying Alzheimer’s diseases stages or even help in preventing it by building more brain cells that could overcome Alzheimer’s effected cells.

ACTIVE

Creating the persona was an essential step into understanding common behaviours and common cognitive abilities of the targeted audience

STRATEGY// PERSONA

“THERE’S ANOTHER PART OF OUR BRAIN THAT IS STURDY, IT IS OUR EMOTIONAL PART.

IT STAND STRONG AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. THEY MAY FORGET THEY SAW YOU OR SPOKE TO YOU BUT THEY WONT EVER FORGET THAT YOU MADE THEM FEEL HAPPY AND SAFE.” -Wendy Mitchel

Early Alzheimer’s could start from your 50’s so it was initial for me to understand age groups and what each age group rely on in their daily quests. I started from 40’s because it is the average age where many already have families, a stable job, a stable routine and are highly independent.

Structure, Routine

Professional Help

Tech - general

Activity level

Transportation

Tech for medical aid

Average admitted to senior house Or left at home with professional/unprofessional care

Essential becomes aid

ACTIVE

Sue Robertson

Age: 57 Current job: volunteer at a gardening centre. Personality: adventurous, happy active Lives: with her son and grandchild Stage: Early onset

Description When dealing with Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease, as a family they chose to make the most out of out rather than being upset, and sad. Sometimes it is a guessing game of what might works and might not. Previous Job Real Estate Agent

Hobby and recreational activity Walking, spending time with her son and grandchild

Caregiver Son, works from home in case she needed him

Fears Being put in a an institution

Disease Effects Reasoning, problem solving, few minutes delay in remembering words

If she was give the freedom to chose Making memories, new friendships

Early Morning

Afternoon

Activity

• Grooming • Breakfast

• Watching T.V • Washing dishes • Cleaning around the house

Location of Activity

• Bathroom • Kitchen

Needs of Activity

• Making choice • Conscientiousness • Remember

Caregiver Role

Devices Used

• Reminding her where the pills box is

Early Evening

Late Evening

Going to sleep

• Volunteering

• Walks • Playground

• Bedtime grooming routine • Going to bed

• Living room • Around the house

• Gardening centre

• Playground • Around the neighbourhood

• Bathroom • Bedroom

• Routine • Enjoyment

• Active • Enjoyment • Sense of serenity • Independence

• Active • Enjoyment • Family time

• Relaxed • Routine

• Making sure she is active within her ability • Breaking away from the daily routine

• Reminding her of the order in case she forgot

• Being around in/ reachable in case she needed help

Wendy Mitchel

Age: 58 Current job: Blog writer, publisher Personality: Highly organized, optimistic, active, Persistence Lives: Alone Stage: Early onset

Description Coping is all about adapting her-life. Accepting what the disease is taking and what she could do to adapt her life around it. She has monthly, weekly diary, alarms on her Iphone and Ipad. Previous Job National Health Service Manager

Hobby and recreational activity Walking, reading, staying connected with recent news and practicing yoga

Caregiver No caregiver.

Fears Being treated differently, she believes that she is still her but only bits are broken

Disease Effects Short-term memory, changing directions is not smoothly coordinated between her brain and body

If she was give the freedom to chose To always stay connected with friends

Early Morning

Afternoon

Early Evening

Late Evening

Going to sleep

Activity

• Grooming • Making Breakfast • Taking pills. • Writing

• Reading • Cleaning • Once a week book club meeting

• Yoga • Walking

• Dinner • Planning for the next day/week

• Bedtime grooming routine • Going to bed

Location of Activity

• Bathroom • Kitchen • Living room

• Living Room • Friend’s house

• Living room • Around the house’s neighbourhood

• Kitchen • Living room

• Bathroom • Bedroom

Needs of Activity

• Making a choice • Conscientiousness • Reliability

• Individualism • Experience • Connecting • Growth

• Enjoyment • Active • Independence

• Enjoyment • Organization • Accomplishment • Discipline

• Relaxed • Routine

Caregiver Role

Devices Used

Hilary Doxford

Age: 54 Current job: still works at her current job Personality: A desire to keep learning Lives: with her husband Stage: Early onset

Description Her and her husband decided to live for the day and enjoy it. To do what they can do while they can since they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what is waiting around the corner. Previous Job Office work

Hobby and recreational activity Walking the dog, playing the flute (Challenge to remember the notes)

Caregiver Husband, however he is not heavily involved yet.

Fears Loosing her job and her independence

Disease Effects At this stage she is only struggling at remembering names during meetings

If she was give the freedom to chose To carry on working

Early Morning

Afternoon

Activity

• Grooming • Breakfast • Driving

Location of Activity

• Bathroom • Kitchen • Car • Office

Needs of Activity

Caregiver Role

Devices Used

• Remembering names

• So far her husband is not as involved. She can handle most of the usual tasks.

Early Evening

Late Evening

Going to sleep

• Work • Organizing meetings • Cleaning the house

• Playing flute • Cooking dinner

• Walking the dog • Strolls around the house • Eating dinner

• Bedtime grooming routine • Going to bed

• Office • Study-room

• Kitchen • Study

• Around the house’s neighbourhood • Kitchen

• Bathroom • Bedroom

• Routine • Enjoyment

• Active • Enjoyment • Serenity • Maintaining a hobby

• Active • Enjoyment • Family time

• Relaxed • Routine

Mallika Patrick

Age: 66 Current job: Retired Personality: Organized Lives: with his wife Stage: Early 2nd Stage

Description Retired a month after his diagnoses as his short memory was affected. He still attends many support groups and activities with his wife. Previous Job Unknown

Hobby and recreational activity Walking, writing in his journal

Caregiver Wife

Fears Not remembering his daughters anymore.

Disease Effects His short-term memory is almost gone, requires a detail/step by step directions

If she was give the freedom to chose Being able to remember and plan with his daughters

Early Morning

Afternoon

Activity

• Grooming • Taking pills. • Breakfast

• Writing important events in his journal • Preparing lunch • Art classes and support groups

• Walking

Location of Activity

• Bathroom • Kitchen

• Living Room • Friend’s house • Support groups

• Living room • Around the house’s neighbourhood

• Kitchen • Living room

• Bathroom • Bedroom

Needs of Activity

• Following steps • Routine

• Routine • Experience • Following steps

• Family • Active

• Routine

• Relaxed • Routine

• Detailed step by step how to heat the food and eat

• Cooking dinner and serve it • Planning his steps for the next day

• Making sure he does his bedtime grooming routine • His notes are ready for the next morning

Caregiver Role

Devices Used

• Preparing breakfast • Making sure he takes his pills

• Detailed step by step how to heat the food and eat

Early Evening

Late Evening

• Dinner

Going to sleep

• Bedtime grooming routine • Going to bed

Ann Johnson

Age: 56 Current job: Media Volunteer Personality: Empathic, listener, Persistence Lives: Daughter Stage: Early 2nd Stage

Description She dealt with dementia patients throughout her career, as well as cared for her father. She is currently a media volunteer, doing several talks about Alzheimer which is giving her a purpose for living Previous Job Trained Nurse

Hobby and recreational activity Walking, writing

Caregiver Daughter

Fears Terrified of what the future holds for her.

Disease Effects Her short-term memory is very bad, she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember what it takes to complete a certain task

If she was give the freedom to chose To make her feel valued.

Early Morning

Afternoon

Early Evening

Late Evening

Activity

• Grooming • Taking pills. • Breakfast

• Media volunteer • Talks

• Activities with her daughter

• Dinner

Location of Activity

• Bathroom • Kitchen

• Outside

• Around the house’s neighbourhood • Living room

• Kitchen • Living room

• Bathroom • Bedroom

Needs of Activity

• Following steps • Routine

• Valuable • Experience

• Family • Active

• Routine

• Relaxed • Routine

Caregiver Role

• Getting up from bed • Providing hints for the next step

• Engaging her mum with activities

• Cooking dinner and serve it • Planning her steps for the next day

• Assistant from her daughter to groom and get ready for bedtime.

Devices Used

Going to sleep

• Bedtime grooming routine • Going to bed

In order to understand where my role as a designer would benefit my audience, I started collecting and highlighting common behaviours and patters.

STRATEGY// COMMON

Sue Robertson

Planning

Reminders

Directions

Emergency Contact

Choice To plan

Events

Safely returning Home

One button to reach her son

Plan to her interests

Medication

Create Experience

Tasks

New Friendships

HOW CAN

Share the experience to decide and plan?

Caregiver: Son

Wendy Mitchel

Planning

Reminders

Directions

Emergency Contact

Simplifying Routine

Events

Safely returning home

One button to reach Emergency Number

One easy form to plan

Medication

Tasks

HOW CAN

Emergency Contact

Hilary Doxford

Planning

Reminders

Directions

Emergency Contact

Plan Activities

Events

Safely returning home

One button to reach her husband

Remember Meetings

Medication

Create Experience

Tasks

HOW CAN

Caregiver: Husband

Notifications?

Mallika Patrick

Reminders

Directions

Emergency Contact

Simplifying Routine

Events Events

Safely returning home

One button to reach his wife

One easy form to plan

Medication

Tasks Planning

HOW CAN

Planning done by the caregiver

Caregiver: Wife

Notifications?

Ann Johnson

Help her feel more valuable

Reminders

Emergency Contact

Events Events

One button to reach her daughter

Make simple plans

Planning

HOW CAN

Planning done by the caregiver

Caregiver: Daughter

Understanding the requirements for designing a solution for an aging persona. What is familiar to them now and still could be used later on while the disease progresses?

STRATEGY//

Virtual Assistant

Mobile Phones and Ipad

Medical Smart Eye Glasses

Such as Alexa or Siri

Advantages

Advantages • Simple to use • Could act as a vocal reminder • Not as intrusive as a care-giver

Ipad: • Big screen, big text • No keyboards or mouse • Direct interaction • Simple swipes

• Part of aging process • Non-intrusive • Private • Simple swipes • Not labour intensive N • No buzzing

Disadvantages • Requires an active internet connection • listening issues • Might be a distraction to the patient

Iphone • Small and always in their pocket • Communication • Text messaging • Light • Simple swipes • You zoom, enlarge the text • could pair it with a smart watch Disadvantages • Ipad might be too big to carry • Ipad might require a surface to support it • Battery life • Made for the youth • Might be too versatile • Cannot be used in the bathroom • Might get lost or forgotten

Disadvantages • Forgotten, lost • Requires an application, developer • Distraction • Still being tested, might not be easy to use for the present generation

Medical reading glasses are one of the items that we tend to start using as we age. This route suggested utilizing a possible future Solutions such as Intelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smart glasses.

STRATEGY//

System

AR & Haptic

Planning

Sensor Bone conduction

Doctor Appointment

March 18th 5 days to go

Guide

Plans

Appointment Food

Doctor Appointment

April 18th 30 days to go

Find

Saved

Activities

Tasks

Emergency

Main Input/output

Secondary output

Electronic sticker tag

Identify routines and habits saving it for future uses, in Tasks Guide Option to use AR through phone or eye glasses?

Losing/misplacing a valuable item

would you like to enable Audio assistant?

Electronic sticker tag bluetooth beacon sticker The AR is capable of identifying which room from identifying certain object that characterise a certain room

Wallet

Keys

Glasses

watch

Yes

Today Tuesday, March 17 ,2018

Today: Tuesday March 17 ,2018

4:08 PM

You have a doctor appointment March 18th 1 days to go

Coming up with the right name or word

through the smartglasses bone conduction?

<What was the word, Ummm> so it would suggests a word

Descriptive icon Image

Mobile App

To dismiss

Are you looking for: Tolerance

Living Room

Looking for Wallet

Blinking Object

Head left

learning userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavior patterns automated reasoning

Wallet

5 steps ahead

Found

Clearance None

Shake your head you dismiss the message

• Information that suddenly appearing on the eyeglass’s screen might add to their confusion. In some Alzheimer’s cases, the patients suffer from hallucinations, and jumbled memories. Informations reflecting as an AR into their eyes might not be convenient to the patient.

• Using AR smart glasses doesn’t solve the solution at the present time. Perhaps smart glasses would be a solution for my generation, 30 years from now. But is not a solution for today’s 50 year old generation. Whom sometime struggle to use a smartphone confidently .

• Time for testing, experimenting, and prototyping I lacked the audience to test scenarios, many of my research was based on online organizations and interviews. UAE is not a senior friendly city. By law many are forced into retirement by the age of 65. Families usually prefer maintaining a private life hence not allowing for possible prototyping visits. And senior care centres do not allow visitors in. Further, the design solution might require a couple of years of waiting and testing before it gets utilized. Intel smart glasses for instance wont realise a test mode until 2019 for developers to use and test.

• Providing a tangible design solution Part of my undergraduate degree requirements sadly was to provide a tangible design solution. Hence, having limits to how much I could speculate. I could not provide a futuristic solution that could be implemented in the next 30 years.

ROUTE 01//

It would provide them with enough percentage of help to fill in the gap of what is missing. Furthermore, implementing a coping system into the patients’ routine would help in slowing down the disorder’s progression. This system is targeted toward Early Stage Alzheimer’s patients (50 - 60 years old) whom are still working and aim to prolong their independence.

STRATEGY//

Medical Mobile App • Provide the patient with enough independence • Caregiver could act as an oversear / supporter • E asy access to information • P romote healthy living • Accessory to a regulated medical device is a simple tool to organize and track

02 Doctor and patient

Doctor / Hospital

Patient gets briefed of the system’s coping mechanism by the doctors.

Hospital’s help centre, scans the barcode which contains the patient’s medical information. This step creates the patient’s account and his/her caregiver

04 Caregiver

Patient

Caregiver account is created based on the scanned barcode

Patient’s account is created based on the scanned barcode. The patient receives a package of thin traceable beacons labels to be used with the mobile application when certain items are lost.

CREATING

How the system works • The main user is the patient • Caregiver chooses how much he needs to be involved depending on the patient’s need • The Caregiver could have access to several patients profiles, if he care to more than one. • By default caregiver has no access to the ‘‘Planning’’ feature or the ‘‘Find My’’ feature ; however, he could enable them depending on the patient’s needs. • If the patients doesn’t confirm a reminder , after 15 min the caregiver will receive a notification informing him that the patient might have forgotten a reminder • In case of emergencies, if the patient clicks on ‘‘Help‘‘ the caregiver would receive the patients current location

Planning

Daily Schedule

Find my

The user gets to decide and plan meals and activities through short simple steps.

List of the planned reminders.

Using Augmented Reality as a feature to provide visual aid in order to track lost items that contains the thin traceable beacons labels .

Home Pressing home will always lead the user back home. A display a map or augmented reality could be user to track the way back.

CREATING

• By default notifies the user 15 minutes before the planned schedule is due • An hour after the planned schedule patient gets notified again to confirm that the task was done

Help One Button, pressing help will call the caregiver directly. In case the caregiver is not reachable it would call the 2nd listed emergency contact point.

The system is designed to fill-in the gap of certain missing skills. It could probably help utilize 20% to 30% of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills. In some cases enough percentage to maintain their independence for at least an hour or two without constant supervision from a caregiver. This system is designed to strengthen the bond between the caregiver and the patient without invading the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freedom of choice.

SYSTEM//

To sign-up, the hospital/ doctor could either enter the information manually of scan the bar-code

Patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data appear to be reviewed

If the information are correct and no further data needs to be added the hospital/ doctor clicks confirm

Screen to confirm the action

Care-giverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data appear to be reviewed

If the information are correct and no further data needs to be added the hospital/ doctor clicks confirm

Screen to confirm the action

Scanning the barcode

SIGN-

Log-in screen

The app would automatically log-in from the saved finger print on the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s phone

Home Screen, Scroll down page that contain 5 features

End of the screen contains the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile and the settings pages

Log-in screen

The app would automatically log-in from the saved finger print of the caregiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s phone

The caregiver has the option to have multipal patients. Each with customisable features If the patient is not capable of planning medications, then the caregiver takes over the feature to start adding the medication reminders. The patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s page will longer display the option to plan medications

Planning

Meal

Breakfast

Lunch

Activity

Shopping

Dinner

PLANNING//

Doctor Appointment

Medication

Click planing

Choose Meals

Choose type of meal

Set a time

Choose a day, either by clicking on the arrows or selecting a day directly

Summary page

Screen to confirm the action

List of activities scheduled for the selected day

Once confirming the patient would be taken back to the home page

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Planning

Meal

Self-care

Activity

Social

Family

Shopping

Pets

Work

Doctor Appointment

Medication

House shores

PLANNING//

There are screens that i wont be listing in every scenario. For Alzheimer’s patients visual queues and redundancy in some actions are essentials .

• Every-time the patient confirms a choice, an orange box would appear confirming the action. • The last confirming stage of every plan would always take the patient to the yellow Daily Schedule page to remind him of his tasks for the day once confirming this page the patient is taken to the homepage . • Purple boxes usually contains information that could be edited. • Before the last confirmation screen the patient could always scroll down to edit or could click back and go one screen back

Click planing

Choose Activity

Choose type of Activity

Select type of social activity

Select a day

Set a time.

Summary page

List of activities scheduled for the selected day

Once confirming the patient would be taken back to the home page

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Planning

Meal

Activity

Shopping

My List

New Items

PLANNING//

Doctor Appointment

Medication

Click planing

Visual queue the patient would always receives upon confirming

Choose Shopping

Choosing the day either by clicking on the arrows or by selecting a day directly

Choosing favourite usually lists down the most commonly purchased items.

If the patient is happy with list he/ she would click confirm. Otherwise they could scroll down to edit

Scroll to choose a time

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Scrolling down, the user has the option to edit the information in the purple boxes

Click planing

Choose Shopping

Second option could be creating an entirely new list

Entering the itemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name. Plus sign to add extra items

Scroll to choose a time

One last review of the chosen items before confirming

Scrolling down, the user has the option to edit the information in the purple boxes

Choosing the day either by clicking on the arrows or by selecting a day directly

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Planning

Meal

Activity

Shopping

Doctor Appointment

By default personal Doctor listed

PLANNING// DOCTOR

Medication

Click planing

Choose Doctor Visit

By default the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal doctor details are already filled in

Choosing the day either by clicking on the arrows or by selecting a day directly

One last time to review before confirming

The user has the option to edit the day and time

Visual queue of the confirmation action

Daily schedule page, for the user to get hints on what his plans for the day

Setting the time

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Planning

Meal

Activity

Shopping

PLANNING// MEDICATION

Doctor Appointment

Medication

By default usual medications and timings listed.

To Create a new Medication click on the plus sign

Scan the barcode

List of medication added so far. Later on, the User only has the option to edit the start date

Daily schedule page, for the user to get hints on what his plans for the day

Scanning the barcode would automatically fill-in the required information including doses, date and timings

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Scroll down for the remaining information

Purple boxes contain information that are editable, Click on the medication to edit the schedule

Medication screen appear

One last time to review before confirming

The user has the option to edit the day and time

The user can only edit the start date. End date automatically filled in as per usual medication doses

The Caregiver would receives notifications of the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new planned schedule

Choosing the day either by clicking on the arrows or by selecting a day directly

Confirming screen

Find My

Keys

Eyeglasses

Wallet

Medication

Ipad

Living Room

Bedroom

Shoes

Closet

FIND MY//

Washroom

Click Find My

Confirmation screen

Choose Keys

Back to Home page

Follow the visual queues

Planning

Daily Schedule

Find my

Home

One click for the user to always find his way back home, using beacons and AR

Help

The user two options either to follow the map or use the camera for the AR feature. Afterwards, all what the user has to do is follow the arrows. Beacons stickers are what leads the user back home as well as giving him a visual hint on where his/her house is.

At Senior centres, late stage Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patients are usually given illustrated cards as visual queues and for the nurses to be able to communicate with them. While having that in mind, I started with capturing moments and actions that would help the user identify the task quickly. Furthermore, Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affects the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to understand written/spoken words hence relying more on their visual senses for hints. So the process started with acting out the scenarios and capturing movements from different

SYSTEM//

The posters were designed to highlights moments where the system could try to fill-in the gap.

POSTERS

ROLE OF

When I started my senior year I had no clue what designing for empathy was. I genuinely, gravitated toward certain stories throughout my studies, always looked for stories to design for, to learn from, and to use design to encourage people to make an action. Working on finding a solution for Early Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s made me learn how our memories are made, what memories are relevant to remember and plan for, and how a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value is not by what he/she remembers. Instead its by what they can still do now while they can. This project taught so much about the brain that i could sit in a room full of doctors and i would not feel so clueless. Empathy design taught me to look carefully and observe for disregarded untold stories. For me, it is a form follows fiction.

Thank you! Heba Daghistani

hsdaghistani@gmail.com