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Cycling to Remember: When Street View and Dementia Care Meet
With the baby boomers now reaching their senior years, dementia is nothing short of an epidemic, And right now, there is little in the way of treatments. But while pharmaceutical companies continue towards the ultimate goal of a cure, technology is helping sufferers in the here and now, by prompting memories and providing mental stimulation
Dementia is a truly awful condition, for which there is currently no cure. But being able to use visual prompts to encourage recall can make a significant difference to suffers, and familiar spaces are a particularly powerful way to dredge up past memories.
However, it isn’t always safe or practical to take sufferers to – for example – the places they lived during childhood, despite the benefits they may bring. It can often be a challenge to take sufferers too far from their home or place of residence for any reason, meaning good mental stimulation can be hard to come by.
Technology, however, is providing a solution, in the form of BikeAround. Combining a senior-friendly exercise bike, a dome-shaped screen called jDome and a projection of Google Street View, BikeAround allows users to cycle round the places familiar to them, without leaving their homes.
Retailed by Swedish healthcare company Camanio Care, BikeAround provides both physical and mental stimulation safely, in a manner that helps to prompt memories and provide a positive experience to users.
It’s not the be-all and end-all for dementia treatment, but right now it’s a deceptively important piece of technology.
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