IU studying use of virtual pets with Alzheimer’s patients
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowResearchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine are studying the use of virtual pets to help people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia accomplish daily tasks. The animated dogs and cats, developed by San Francisco-based care.coach, work on tablets and interact with patients, and the technology is being tested on Hoosiers to see if by reducing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, caregivers have less stress and patients can remain at home rather than moving to an institution.
In an interview with Business of Health Reporter Kylie Veleta, IU Professor of Aging Research Dr. Malaz Boustani said the pets have surprised even him.
“I was very skeptical that this animated care.coach developed by some person in California would really do anything for my patients,” said Boustani. “Some of my patients early on, they come over and they’d tell me, ‘So, you know, Buddy was really good. I’ve been talking with him. It’s really good.’ I was like, ‘Who are they talking about?’ and my care coordinator who supports me in the center said this is actually the avatar that they’ve engaged with them. That was the biggest surprise for me.”
Much of the pet’s actions are not automated; they are controlled by a live care.coach worker who can type responses from a remote location, which are then delivered in the pet’s voice.
Boutstani says the scalability of the technology is key because it has a minimal barriers.
“A lot of humans have Alzheimer’s disease and if I want to change their life for the better, I want to make sure whatever solution I give them, it will be accessible to them all,” he said. “And what I like about this care.coach concept, the only thing you need so far, is you need internet access, which I know not everybody has. The second one is the price, but hopefully with insurance, the price is still very, very low compared to other things.”
Another key aspect of the study is dealing with the stress of the caregivers. Boustani says the caregiver is the vehicle that allows the person with Alzheimer’s to live a good quality of life.
“What we are testing right now is to see is does this care.coach help in the caregiver’s stress [level] and by doing so, does that lead to optimal quality of life? And if the quality of life of a person living with dementia is optimal, then usually, everything follows through.”
Boustani says the study will continue for up to a year and a half.
The study was first spotlighted in our September Life Sciences INdiana newsletter.