Digital health app company, Memory Lane Games, has teamed up with Hospice Isle of Man’s Scholl Academic Centre for a new clinical pilot study which will explore the impact of digital reminiscence activities on dementia patients and their quality of life.
The study will follow 30 people with dementia and their carers and has received approval from the Isle of Man Research Ethics Committee.
Memory Lane Games delivers simple reminiscence and distraction activities to users and is dementia-friendly. A year ago it was one of four companies selected for the East Midlands Digital Health Accelerator programme.
The game-based app has already received approval from the Organisation for the Review of Health and Care Applications (ORCHA) – who has previously revealed in a poll that the public is willing to embrace digital tools.
During the study – which will be completed within patients’ own homes – participants will be asked to use the app at least once a week and they and their carer will be visited by researchers four times over a six month period, to assess changes to their quality of life.
Anne Mills, CEO of Hospice Isle of Man and principal investigator on the study, said: “We are delighted to be leading this study so that a thorough academic and independent trial of this technology, can determine if this type of intervention could help to improve wellbeing of patients and their carers with dementia.”
Memory Lane Games CEO, Bruce Elliott, added: “From personal experience and anecdotal feedback, we’ve seen the power of reminiscence and distraction activities in helping support those affected by dementia.
“We see the unmet need for critical day to day support for all those affected by dementia and we’re incredibly proud to be working with Hospice Isle of Man to lead the way with new research that brings us one step closer to improving the quality of life for all those touched by cognitive decline.”