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Dementia is one of the diseases that lack a cure to date.
As a result, it’s one of the most challenging illnesses for a senior patient to experience and for caregivers to assist with.
The good news is the greatness that new technology has brought into the world. The new technology helps to ease the tension, anxiety and also improves the quality of life for the patient.
It helps the patients take care of themselves, reduces risks at home, and also reduces stress. It means that there is a lot of good that comes along with the invention.
Here is an ultimate list of the best technology assists for dementia patients and their caregivers.
1. Calendar apps
Calendar apps are great, especially when the caregivers have a lot to do. The caregiver needs to remember all the responsibilities on their list.
The list will feature automatic reminders which one can set several times in a day, a week or a month. The user can also use the calendar to track the patient’s medication schedules, measure when tests are due, or the doctor’s appointments.
The good thing is, the family can share the calendar, making sure that several people stay alert.
That allows multiple caretakers to remain connected, therefore, ensuring there is someone to take care of the patient.
Unfortunately, dementia has become an epidemic. It is now the biggest cause of death amongst women in many countries, and millions of people live with it every day.
However, treatments are improving, and early diagnosis is key, at least according to FirstCare Dublin boss Jane Byrne.
2. Dementia clocks
There are clocks specifically designed for patients with dementia. These are large faced clocks that help ease anxiety, usually associated with the diagnosis.
Most of the time, people with dementia will find it difficult to tell time. When the clock is easy to read, it helps the patients to distinguish time. It reduces confusion or worries if the patient is already prone to forgetting.
They even have some clocks that, with a push of a button, will tell you the time, date, or even what day it is.
The clock is also an excellent take for the caregivers trying to make a routine showing the sick ones that they time they say is correct.
3. Electrical appliance use monitoring
Today, caregivers who don’t live in the same compound as the patients have a simple task in monitoring how the patient handles electronic devices.
These include TVs, radios, laptops, microwaves, and other electrical devices. By using this, the caregivers can even monitor if center appliances are properly turned off or what are currently in use.
Although dementia is a devastating disease, which until now has very little improvement in curing, innovations as simple as monitoring a patient help to make the management of the disease easy.
4. Home care robots
Researchers, engineers, and innovators in different fields have come up with home care robots that help provide patient care to help relieve the hardships in caring for a dementia patient.
Although this is considered a big advancement in inpatient care, they are mostly designed to only help and not replace human care. They can do house duties and remind the people to take medication.
They also have an alarm to alert the doctors when assistance is urgent. Homecare robots are foreseen as the future of caregiving. But again, they are not to replace actual care from a human caregiver.
5. In-home Cameras
In-home cameras help to track the activities of the patient when the caregiver is a distance away. First and foremost, they help ensure the safety of the patient.
The camera also helps to see if the patient is taking medication, therefore, relieving the caregiver’s tension. Some cameras will even allow you to communicate with the patient making sure that they are just fine.
They also have a programmed alert system, in case there is a long period passing without any movements dedicated.
These are just a few of the technology assists for dementia and caregivers. They help in making it easy to take care of the patient.
Some examples of robots help to give the caregiver a relaxing time. The expectation is that, in the future, more technology assists will help cure the disease completely.
About The Author:
Holly Clark has been working in the care industry for 5+ years as a project coordinator. She regularly blogs about both the personal and practical challenges of caring and is always actively working on producing informative content. Holly is currently writing for FirstCare.ie.
