Conférence
A new integrated model for dementia management
A Greek interdisciplinary scientific group proposes new technologies, novel neuroscientific concepts and advanced socio-economic and administrational organisation to ease the management of dementia in elderly
Dr. Kostas Petsanis
Thursday 23 May from 6.30 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Council Chamber
The general economic crisis while being a nightmare for the society, it has also given way to a new kind of reorganization and living. Elderly people come up against many health problems. A society of elders needs flexible solutions in every day living in order to avoid social and health stalemates. The mood and cognition in the elderly turn out to be doubtful and problematic. These situations give rise to a continuously growing number of depressed and demented elderly people with catastrophic results to the quality of life and social management. Αn interdisciplinary group of greek scientists proposes a novel advanced process of ambient interaction for elderly people with dementia using new computer-aided technologies.
This new integrated model for dementia management embraces new neuroscientific and social concepts, driven by the ways elderly people confront their everyday living problems, their moods and their cognitive disabilities. Incorporating technological applications, environmental modifications and neurocognitive knowledge in patient's daily care, we give them the opportunity to maintain their existing abilities, be active during daily life, improving their emotional status and increasing the quality of their life markers. Through these sophisticated interventions, elders can be treated using light and sound technology, avoiding unnecessary pharmacological interventions, being socially active and enjoying a variety of activities. Multi-sensorial patterns such as robots, telemedicine applications, computerized brain training, special therapeutic applications such as music intervention bed, sensory rooms, therapeutic virtual train and smart home devices constitute basic parts of the individualized patient treatment. Furthermore, ambient strategies and behavioral techniques such as doll therapy, art programs, environmental solutions and memory products are main tools during the personalized elder care. Using the collaboration among various scientific views, we intent to focus on daily needs, which appear mainly in everyday living. Patients with neurocognitive disorders can be treated with a humanistic approach while using simultaneously new electronic advances and pioneering neuropsychological data.
The future of dementia management looks particularly promising socially and technologically, where the needs of the elderly are respected.
