The aim of the study was to generate design criteria in order to encourage and facilitate wayfinding for advanced Alzheimer’s patients. Two sources of data were used: interviews with the staff of a typical urban nursing home, and a wayfinding experience with its residents. The results show that even patients with severe cognitive deterioration are able to reach certain destinations. Wayfinding decisions have to be based on environmental information that is readily accessible, so that the patient can proceed from decision point to decision point. Monotony of architectural composition and the lack of reference points render wayfinding difficult. The elevators are seen to be a major anxiety-causing barrier. Visual access to the main destinations increases their use and facilitates wayfinding. Signage has an important function, creating redundancy in wayfinding communication and compensating for the loss of memory and spatial understanding. Floor patterns and dark lines or surfaces can disorient the patients and cause anxiety.

Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative disease characterised by a progressive loss of cognitive functions and impairment of activities of daily living severe enough to interfere with normal functioning. To help persons with this disease perform a variety of activities, our research team developed AP@LZ, an electronic organiser specifically designed for them. Two participants with Alzheimer's disease learned how to use AP@LZ in their daily lives by following a structured learning method. After the learning phase, the participants were able to use AP@LZ efficiently and facilitate their day-to-day activities for several months, despite the steady progression of the disease. These results suggest that persons with Alzheimer's disease can learn to use new technologies to compensate for their everyday memory problems, which opens up new rehabilitation possibilities in dementia care.

Despite technological limitations and the novelty of the field, smart home technologies represent a promising potential for the early screening of MCI and could support clinicians in geriatric care.