Assistive technology: Visual mapping combined with mobile software can enhance quality of life and ability to carry out activities of daily living in individuals with impaired memory

Personalized Visual Mapping Assistive Technology to Improve Functional Ability in Persons With Dementia: Feasibility Cohort Study

“…Participants accessed the software and visual maps through a mobile tablet device. Visual maps consisted of pictures and keywords in a step-by-step sequence to guide and assist participants with memory impairment in organizing and successfully accomplishing ADLs [ 4 ]. Participants were encouraged to self-select visual maps based on personal preferences and needs, and they could add images from their own environment to personalize the selected templates.…”

“…Two recent developments have converged in an attempt to effectively address this challenge. First, developments in the field of assistive technology, including the use of smart devices (eg, tablets, phones, and wearables) have provided ways to enhance the ability of caregivers—both family and professional—to assist individuals with dementia and memory impairment to successfully perform activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, toileting, and dressing [ 4 ]. Importantly, there is cumulating evidence that technology adoption is being progressively embraced both among dementia care recipients and their caregivers, findings that bode well for the potential effectiveness of assistive technology interventions [ 5 - 7 ].…”

“…MapHabit is a novel mobile health (mHealth) assistive technology app that allows users and/or caregivers to develop personalized maps that aid people living with cognitive impairment in the recall of steps needed to complete the above-described ADLs [ 4 , 9 ]. With repeated use of these maps, people with impaired memory can develop a habit of consulting their visual maps routinely and independently of their caregivers.…”

A Feasibility Study of Individuals Living at Home with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Utilization of Visual Mapping Assistive Technology to Enhance Quality of Life and Reduce Caregiver Burden

“…The MapHabit System (MHS) has been described in detail in previous reports and is a commercially available visual mapping software application, resident on encrypted smart tablets, that utilizes visual, audio, and text media to create step-by-step visual guides to assist participants and their caregivers in structuring and accomplishing ADLs (see Figure 1 ). 1 MHS is the assistive technology used in the Experimental group. Control group used encrypted smart tablets to view a pre-loaded series of educational videos focused on all aspects of dementia, including recognizing symptoms and dementia care.…”

“…At the end of the 6-week period, the ADCS-ADL and MBRC caregiver strain assessments were re-administered to caregivers, along with two additional post-intervention assessments: (1) A net-promoter-type survey consisting of two questions (using a Likert-type scale of 1–5, where a score of 5 was most positive, a score of 3 was neutral, and a score of 1 was most negative) that asked caregivers to rate their overall satisfaction with the MHS, and how strongly they would recommend MHS to others 1 , 2 (2) An 18-item quality-of-life questionnaire (QoL-18) completed by the caregivers to evaluate the status of their care recipient on a range of behaviors (including mood, emotion, independence, and memory) compared to 6 weeks earlier. 1 , 2 …”