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Memio: Externalizing Memory for Early-Onset Alzheimer's and Dementia PatientsMain MenuWHO WE AREThe Incredible Team Behind the ProjectWHAT WE DOExternalizing Memory Through Wearable TechnologyHOW WE DO ITAn Overview of the Creative Process to Bring "Memio" to LifeWHY WE DO ITA Design Fiction Short Film Based on Real Life ExperiencesWHAT PEOPLE SAYTestimonial Interviews from Nurses, Researchers, Engineers, and MoreWHERE WE GOT OUR IDEASWorks CitedMatthew Hanisch404632a12c04d5686a590ffe78f30b6e36a661ff
Kathy Struttmann, RN
1media/Kathy_02.jpg2019-04-21T20:31:12-07:00Matthew Hanisch404632a12c04d5686a590ffe78f30b6e36a661ff3369510Registered Nurse Specializing in Caregiving for Dementia Patientsplain2019-05-01T06:03:40-07:00Matthew Hanisch404632a12c04d5686a590ffe78f30b6e36a661ffKathy is a registered nurse who specializes in caregiving for dementia patients.
Kathy was immediately interested in the product's functionality. How it would store faces, names, and connections and how it would relay that information to the patient were her primary interests.
On the human side, Kathy described the sheer humiliation Alzheimer’s and dementia patients face. These are proud indivduals who have often spent their whole lives raising and caring for others. Having to be cared for themselves can feel very demeaning. They have been the mind and the organizer for everyone else, and now they can’t even organize their own lives. Memio would help alleviate the shame and humiliation, especially if the memory jogger was personal to the patients and others couldn’t interact with it.
In terms of physical signs of dementia, Kathy described her patients’ tendency to put their shirt on backwards, put on only one earring, and even use foundation as blush.
Some of the details made it into the short film, but I was concerned that using all of them would paint an overly negative and cartoonish depiction of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
Kathy also described the reaction of dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to public spaces. She said they are often overwhelmed by new lighting, excessive noises, and crowded spaces. The information is simply too much for them to process. The best place for these patients to be in a public setting is in an area where they can see everyone, in a corner with nothing behind them that would cause a distraction. Natural lighting also greatly helps.
Kathy also recommended Teepa Snow’s YouTube Channel. Teepa Snow is an occupational therapist with forty years of clinical practice experience and one of the world’s leading educators on dementia and the care that accompanies it. In 2005, she founded Positive Approach® to Care (PAC), a company that provides dementia care training, services, and products around the world. Her videos on YouTube give detailed, accurate instructions on how to care for dementia patients.
Teepa’s videos provided the details steps to calm dementia patients that was used in the film:
De-escalating a crisis
Remove the threat
Back away/clear space
Be on her side
Get at or below eye level
Use hand under hand
Breathe in sync
Calm voice
Relax body
Attend to needs
Be willing to go where he/she is
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1media/Talk.jpg2019-04-21T19:48:48-07:00Matthew Hanisch404632a12c04d5686a590ffe78f30b6e36a661ffWHAT PEOPLE SAYMatthew Hanisch9Testimonial Interviews from Nurses, Researchers, Engineers, and Morevisual_path8630682019-04-22T05:47:19-07:00Matthew Hanisch404632a12c04d5686a590ffe78f30b6e36a661ff
