Prototyping Cognitive Prosthetics for People with Dementia

Abstract

In the COGKNOW project, a cognitive prosthetic has been developed through the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based services to address the unmet needs and demands of persons with dementia. The primary aim of the developed solution was to offer guidance with conducting everyday activities for persons with dementia. To encourage a user-centred design process, a three-phased methodology was introduced to facilitate cyclical prototype development. At each phase, user input was used to guide the future development. As a prerequisite to the first phase of development, user requirements were gathered to identify a small set of functional requirements from which a number of services were identified. Following implementation of these initial services, the prototype was evaluated on a cohort of users and, through observing their experiences and recording their feedback, the design was refined and the prototype redeveloped to include a number of additional services in the second phase. The current chapter provides an overview of the services designed and developed in the first two phases.