A user driven approach to develop a cognitive prosthetic to address the unmet needs of people with mild dementia

The design of intelligent in-home assistive technologies: Assessing the needs of older adults with dementia and their caregivers

“…As such, caregivers appear to know very little about existing or emergent intelligent AT that have been shown to help with various ADL 20,31,33,35 . However, intelligent AT developers need to consider the role of users in the entire process of device development; not simply in terms of determining user needs to ensure the product is developed appropriately but also to increase the chance of device adoption by users.…”

“…However, intelligent AT developers need to consider the role of users in the entire process of device development; not simply in terms of determining user needs to ensure the product is developed appropriately but also to increase the chance of device adoption by users. Central to this objective is adopting a User-Centred Design (UCD) approach [31][32][33] , where users are included in all stages of device development including: needs assessment; idea generation; device prototyping; and efficacy testing. Considering the lack of knowledge caregivers showed about available or emerging intelligent AT, our findings suggest that developers of intelligent AT interested in using a UCD approach must revise existing strategies of recruitment and dissemination of information (which are arguably not working) if caregiver participation and device acceptance is desired, For example, the use of caregiving resources (e.g., caregiver newsletters, websites) or more public magazines (e.g., Popular Science, AARP The Magazine) may spread the word more effectively.…”

“…ADL were explored through 54 items constructed based on the results obtained in other similar studies 26,27,31 in three categories (18 items in each): Independent ADL completion by a person with dementia; Caregivers assisting with completion of ADL; and Supporting ADL with intelligent Assistive Technology. In addition, features and functions of AT as tools in the home were explored through 24 items constructed using face validity as other studies or scales to measure this don't exist.…”

“…In the development of AT an analogous approach (though much less developed or systematic) called User Centred Design (UCD), has recently emerged [31][32][33] . The UCD approach involves actively identifying the needs of users, which are then synthesized into technical design criteria using tools such as QFD and used to develop a functional, testable prototype.…”

“…Several device prototypes were developed and tested, revealing that device usability and robustness, as well as careful user-interface considerations were critical to device acceptance. Perhaps the most substantial project to employ a UCD approach is the COGKNOW project 31 which, through focus groups and workshops, found that caregivers and people with dementia desired AT that reinforced memory, socialization, ADL support and safety. Emphasizing the development of a commercial product, the study followed a UCD approach to produce a complete system to support these needs.…”