> Alzheimer's Society picks up prize
- 30 May 07, 03:11 PM
The Microsoft-led DesignIT 2007 competition has been won by an innovative concept that will help people with dementia.
The winning design, submitted by The Alzheimer's Society, is called 'memories are made of this' and comes in two parts. The first is a customisable screensaver. The user will be able to upload pictures, text and video to create a personalised scrapbook on a computer. The second part is a social networking element, which will provide an easy to use way for people with dementia to talk with each other.
There are over 100 types of dementia, the most commonly known of which is Alzheimer's disease. Symptoms can include loss of memory and problems with speech and understanding. It is estimated that over 700,000 people in the UK have dementia.
The Alzheimer's Society has found that when a person with dementia works with a carer to create a scrapbook of their memories, it can have an excellent therapeutic effect. This is known as 'reminiscence therapy'. It also helps to provide common ground between patient and carer. "Everyday scrapbooks are really important in helping people with dementia. With so much of our lives being caught in digital format, it was a logical step to also provide a virtual scrapbook," said Gayle Wing, Head of Media for the Alzheimer's Society.
Whilst the Alzheimer's Society already provides a forum for people with dementia around the world, the social networking aspect of the project will provide a more immediate way for people to talk to each other.
There will be some real challenges along the way in creating 'memories are made of this.' As Gayle said, "Whilst there is plenty of research into how visually impaired people use the internet, there is very little research available regarding cognitive accessibility concerns. We'll need to explore many issues, like using text or visual signposting for navigation, in order to create something our users will benefit fully from."
The project is currently at the prototype stage. As part of the prize in winning the DesignIT competition, The Alzheimer's Society will be working with Microsoft to complete the project.
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