TITLE:
A Short Review of the Literature on Assistive Technologies for Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Caregivers
AUTHORS:
Deepak R. Chandran
KEYWORDS:
Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Caregiver Burnout, Assistive Technology
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Alzheimer's Disease,
Vol.11 No.4,
December
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: Alzheimer’s is one of the most disabling neurocognitive diseases. A person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s slowly loses cognitive function and ultimately becomes entirely dependent upon the caregivers. Caregivers must help the patient in everyday activities ranging from walking to cooking, eating, and so on. In most caregiving facilities, a single caregiver often handles more than one patient, which results in caregiver burnout. Researchers are developing useful technologies to prevent caregiver burnouts and facilitate families in the best possible manner. The goal of this purposive short review of literature is to study the modern tools, devices, and gadgets available to Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers and understand the focus areas for future research. The review identified a range of products and technologies that help in monitoring to diagnosis, aid therapy, and reduce the burden on caregivers. These technologies play a vital role in improving the quality of life for both the patients and the caregivers. The study identified reducing cost of the devices, increasing robustness and dependability of the devices, and various aspects of the assistive technologies, including ethical and privacy issues, as the focus areas for future research.