Being able to start something you enjoy. Being recognized by someone who has only just met you. These are different needs, but both can shape the quality of everyday life with dementia.
Alzheimer Nederland has awarded funding to two research projects led by TU/e researchers. Maarten Houben from the Department of Industrial Design will lead ThuisVolZin (Meaningful at Home), while Wijnand IJsselsteijn from the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences will lead Nooit meer ongekend: Het Emotioneel Paspoort (Never Unknown: The Emotional Passport). Both projects will run for three years.
Houben and IJsselsteijn also work together within TU/e's Expertise Centre for Dementia & Technology , ECDT, one of six Dutch national Alzheimer Center supported by Alzheimer Nederland. Their projects account for two of the four larger projects selected in Alzheimer Nederland's quality of life research category this funding round. This recognition underlines the strength of the research across TU/e into technology that is developed to improve the everyday lives of people with dementia.
A first step
Putting on a favorite song, looking through a family album, or spending time in the garden can add meaning to someone's day. For people with dementia, however, starting such an activity can become difficult. The interest may still be there, but taking the first step is not always easy.
In ThuisVolZin, Houben and his partners will investigate how personalized AI support can provide a small, timely nudge. A familiar photograph, a favorite piece of music, or the sound of birds might encourage someone to look through an album, listen to music, or water the plants.
The aim is not to tell someone what to do. It is to find the personal cue that helps that individual get started.
This may allow people with dementia to remain active and make more of their own choices. It could also give partners and family members more room to enjoy activities together instead of always having to initiate them.
The researchers will develop and test the approach with people with dementia and their caregivers in their own homes. Care organizations will contribute practical knowledge and help involve participants. Technology partners will explore how the findings can inform future products and services.
Staying known
While ThuisVolZin focuses on taking initiative at home, the second project begins at another vulnerable moment: a change in care.
When someone moves to a new care setting or meets a new caregiver, medical records usually follow. Personal knowledge does not always travel as easily. A new caregiver may know what support someone needs, but not what makes that person laugh, which relationships matter, or how that person prefers to be approached.
In Nooit meer ongekend: Het Emotioneel Paspoort, IJsselsteijn and his partners will develop a way to preserve and share this personal knowledge. The passport will bring together information about someone's relationships, values, routines, interests, communication style, life experiences, and wishes. It is intended to change over time as the person's life and care situation change.
Human centered AI may help collect and organize this information and make relevant details available when they are needed. The information will remain connected to its source and will require human verification. The purpose is not to automate personal care, but to help care professionals see the person behind the care needs.
The project brings together TU/e, Vilans, several care organisations, and community partner De Meerpaal. Through co-design methods, people with dementia, loved ones, and care professionals will be closely involved in developing and testing the passport.
Common ground
The two projects address different challenges and are led from different TU/e departments. At the same time, they share the approach developed within ECDT: designing technology with people with dementia, their loved ones, and care professionals, with a focus on people's quality of life, wellbeing and capabilities.
This is increasingly important. More people with dementia are living at home for longer, while professional care and family caregivers face growing pressure. Technology may offer support, but only if it fits people's lives, relationships, and individual needs.
One project asks what may help someone get started. The other asks what helps someone remain known.
In both projects, technology stays in the background, supporting the things that make everyday life worth living.
