Professor Mark Chignell
August 16, 2017 – Caring for individuals with dementia often involves managing residents’ disruptive and sometimes dangerous behaviors, including screaming, hitting or kicking. Common measures used in long-term care to circumvent these aggressive acts include antipsychotic medications and personalized therapy programs. But many medications can compromise the well-being of residents, and recreational programs require significant staff time.
A new technology developed by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Toronto, led by MIE professor Mark Chignell, is designed to help calm and engage long-term care residents with dementia and with that, improve their quality of life. Ambient Activity Technologies (AAT) are interactive tools that can be installed on a wall of a facility, where they can be easily accessed by residents with or without staff assistance.
