Capture & Access Lifelogging Assistive Technology for People with Episodic Memory Impairment

Capture and access lifelogging technologies use a c ombination of wearable and environmental sensors to record people's experiences and then make the data availab le for subsequent review. These types of technologi es can help people with episodic memory impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease) regain an awareness of the import ant experiences of their life and reduce the burden the y impose on their caregivers. However, lifelogging technologies can produce an overwhelmingly large amount of information (in the form of photos, audio, videos, and s ensor logs) that is too difficult for people with cognitive imp airment to review. Our approach focuses designing s ystems that select and present only lifelog data that are the m ost effective memory cues for the person with memor y impairment. To design such systems, we conducted two field stud ies to investigate the strategies people use to com pensate for their episodic memory impairment and also what kinds of information are the most effective memory cues . Based on the findings from these studies, we discuss the des ign of a capture and access lifelogging system that passively records people experiences, selects out the most ef fective cues, and presents these cues to the person with memory impairment in an engaging cueing interaction that a llows them to exercise their memory abilities. Introduction We depend on our episodic memory to help us remember our recent experiences. We can remember having a good chat with a close friend last week and can pick up where the conversation left off. We can remember buying milk and bananas from the market in the morning so we do not have go out and buy them again in the afternoo n. We can remember having dinner at a new restaurant and can relive the experience of how delicious the food tas ted by simply thinking of it. We remember spending an evening reading a favorite book in the safety and comfort of o ur home. Recent experiences provide a rich, intimate source of information for making important decisions, plan ning out our future actions, thinking about the pleasant experie nces of our lives, interacting meaningfully with ot hers, and living in comfort and security. However, Alzheimer's disea se (AD) subtly and progressively robs people of the ir ability to remember their recent experiences. One of the first symptoms of the disease is recent episodic memory impairment. Episodic memory is the memory of specific experiences that you can replay in your head, in contrast to semantic memory, the memory of facts about the world. AD affects not only the individual with the disease but a lso his caregiver, particularly family caregivers who provi de support at home. Providing care for people with AD can lead to depression and other mood disorders, as it can b e more emotionally and physically demanding than caring for other types of diseases that afflict the elderly (1 , 18). Technology can be used to support recent episodic memory. In particular, capture and access lifeloggin g technology is a natural fit for people with episodic memory im pairment. Normally, people without memory impairments perceive their experiences through their senses, an d their brains are able to record a representation of their experiences and make them available for reflection. People with AD, however, have cognitive impairments that result in faulty recording and thus retrieval of th eir experiences. Capture and access systems can per ceive the user's experiences, record a representation of them, and m ake them available for subsequent user review. With this approach, we can capture effective memory cues that can assist the person with memory impairment to no t only recall but also mentally relive the experience. Background Approximately 18 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, with this numb er