It’s no secret that amnesia, dementia, and other memory related problems create enormous hardship for families and friends of those stricken with these ailments. Dementia, including Alzheimer’s, affects 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 and 1 in 6 over the age of 80. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for dementia, but more tools are becoming available to help patients and their supporters better cope with some of its effects.
Vicon Review, a wearable digital camera based on Microsoft SenseCam technology and sold by UK-based Vicon, focuses on helping patients with memory issues. A patient wears the device around his or her neck and a built-in camera automatically takes low-resolution photos with a wide-angle lens every 30 seconds or when it senses a change in lighting.
Afterward, the patient or a helper downloads the pictures and the person suffering from memory loss reviews them in sequence. The goal is to provide a “refresh” of the patient’s memory—whether it’s later that day or two weeks afterward.
Although patients might not recall the exact event and they’re unlikely to retain the camera’s images in their mind, the process provides them with some sense of experience surrounding previous events and activities.
Martin Conway, Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Leeds in the UK, has described the device as groundbreaking. “SenseCam images are one of the most important cues to remembering I have ever encountered. This is because they are similar to visual images in human memory.”
In fact, Conway notes that more than 80 percent of human memory is visual and the device serves as a “memory prosthesis” for any person of any age suffering from memory loss. Moreover, “It can also serve as a tool for investigating naturally occurring memory or everyday memory.”
MRI brain scans and several studies indicate that the SenseCam technology aids in autobiographical recall. The device is currently used in more than 40 research labs worldwide.
Vicon Review contains a variety of electronic sensors, including light-intensity and light-color sensors, a passive infrared (body heat) detector, a temperature sensor, and a multiple-axis accelerometer. These sensors are monitored by the camera’s microprocessor, and certain changes in sensor readings trigger a photograph automatically.
The device currently stores upwards of 60,000 images on a 2 Gb flash memory card. The photos are transferred to a PC via USB port. SenseCam is designed to run continuously for up to 12 hours and costs £500 (approximately $800).
What tools or techniques do you use to improve your memory?
CONNECT THE DOTS
For more information about the Vicon Revue visit: https://www.viconrevue.com/home.html. For news about another device designed to aid individuals with memory loss or dementia, read our blog post: “High Tech Tools to Help Alzheimer’s Patients Remember.” Click here for a factsheet about Alzheimer’s. For science-based strategies to rev up memory, read “Mental Fitness 101.”
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