Companionship, to live together.
Published in Chapter:
Towards an HCI-Based Symbiotic Environment for Alzheimer's Support
Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece), Dimitrios Mandiliotis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece), Konstantinos Toumpas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece), and Aikaterini Kyprioti (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 29
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8234-4.ch013
Abstract
Alzheimer's Disease (AD), being the most common form of dementia diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, is a global problem with dramatic impact, as there is no cure for it and worsens as it progresses, eventually leading to death. As the sufferer declines s/he often withdraws from family and society, leading to a marginalized way of living. Considering the life expectancy rise, a looming global epidemic of AD is foreseen; hence, new approaches need to be considered regarding AD prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and confrontation. In this vein, an alternative approach (namely Symbiosis) towards a symbiotic Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) environment is presented in this chapter, as a means to facilitate, understand and incorporate the needs of the whole AD community (i.e., patients, caregivers and doctors), involving cutting-edge technology, special serious games and natural-user interfacing, embedded within an innovative design framework. Overall, Symbiosis acts as a technology-based mediator for AD's indoor and outdoor activities, fostering their social inclusion and increasing their quality of life in a symbiotic context.