I assume that, sadly, most of us know an individual that suffers from the poignant, incurable condition that is called dementia. Did you know that, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International, every three seconds someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with any form related to dementia? It is expected that by 2030 75 million people will suffer from this condition. At the moment, the cost levels of care and therapy together are estimated at $818 billion, however, if no successful treatment or solution is found, the sum is expected to increase heavily taking into account the expected increase in dementia patients.
What if we can try to take away symptoms of dementia patients like stress, anxiety and even depression by applying a tool that distracts them by providing virtual reality experiences that present calming scenes. Accordingly, a young UK healthcare startup, Virtue, uses VR as a memory portal in the process of reminiscence therapy. Reminiscence therapy involves discussions of past events and experiences supported by memory triggers such as household items as photographs, videos and sound recordings. Moreover, it is already one of the most popular methods in professional dementia care and has proven to be beneficial to the mental health of elder people. Through Virtue’s application, LookBack VR, they are able to allow dementia patients to relive their youthful memories from historical events from 1940 to 1970. This includes videos of special landmarks or scenes and even personal experiences. For instance, Viewers can choose to experience that day at the beach in 1970. They can even choose to live in a 1930s styled house and walk from their to the busstop in front of their house. Their caregivers can accompany them as they can see their headset view on a tablet or iPad, along with multiple question to encourage a relevant conversation about that particular event.
This technology solves offers better quality of life for dementia patients and their loved ones. As this application provides low-key, affordable and accessible method of providing reminiscence therapy at dementia patients’ homes, facing dementia will become a better bearable and less isolated experience.
Sources:
– https://www.wired.co.uk/article/virtual-reality-dementia-technology
– https://insights.samsung.com/2018/03/13/virtual-reality-delivers-real-world-benefits-to-dementia-patients/
– https://thehealthhorizon.com/showcases/innovations/9be733a2-b442-4dc8-916b-8eb02c12cd1f
– Ponnusamy Subramaniam & Bob Woods (2012) The impact of individual reminiscence therapy for people with dementia: systematic review, Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12:5, 545-555,
– https://supercarers.com/blog/reminiscence-therapy-for-dementia/
