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Assistive Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Dementia and Age-Related Cognitive Decline

Research Project
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01.01.2015
 - 31.12.2018

The aging of the European population and the consequent increasing incidence of dementia and age-related cognitive decline pose a major problem for the health-care services in terms of financial management, caregiving burden and rise significant societal and ethical implications. The proportion of the total European population older than 65 is set to increase from 16.1 % in 2000 to 27.5 % by 2050, while the proportion of the population aged over 80 years (3.6 % in 2000) is expected to reach 10 % by 2050. With population over 65 being >17% of the total population, Switzerland, Germany and Italy are on the front line to face the high costs of long-term care and institutionalization for dementia patients (6 900 000 000 CHF per year only in Switzerland) and the resulting burden on the health-care system as well as on non-professional caregivers. A promising approach to this emergent crisis is the massive development and deployment of intelligent assistive technologies (e.g. environmental sensors, biosensors, cognitive orthoctics, and advanced integrated systems) that compensate for the physical and sensory deficits that may accompany elders with dementia and age-related cognitive decline and support them in the completion of Activities of Daily Living (ADL), in a manner that enables them to stay longer, safely and more independently in the domestic environment. In fact, technologies that can help cognitively impaired elders live at home longer or to maintain more independence in assisted living facilities would provide a "triple-win" effect, improving quality of life of patients, reducing the burden on caregivers and the health-care system and potentially saving significant amounts of money. While rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, pervasive and ubiquitous computing (PUC) and other advanced trends in software and hardware technology have already led to the commercialization of a number of assistive technologies (ATs) for dementia home-care, little information has been collected so far on the views and attitudes towards these technologies of all major stakeholders, namely patients, family members and professional caregivers. Aim of this study is threefold: (I) to produce an up-to-date index of intelligent ATs developed for the purposes of dementia home-care; (II) to collect extensive transnational information across Switzerland, Germany and Italy regarding the impact of indexed ATs on the quality of life of users; and (III) to investigate the views, needs and attitudes towards ATs of dementia and cognitive decline patients as well as their professional and non-professional caregivers with particular attention on ethically relevant features including privacy, personhood, autonomy, and safety.

Collaborations & Cooperations

2021 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Emanuel, Ezekiel, Prof. Dr., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Other
2018 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Borry, Pascal, Prof., Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law (K.U.Leuven), Research cooperation
2017 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on a national level
Caon, Maurizio, Dr., University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, Research cooperation
2017 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Haselager, Pim, Prof., Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behavior, Radboud University, the Netherlands, Research cooperation
2017 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Viça, Constantin, University of Bucharest, Research cooperation
2015 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on a national level
Andorno, Roberto, University Zurich, Research cooperation
2014 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on a national level
Kressig, Reto, Prof. Dr., Chefarzt und Extraordinarius für Geriatrie, Universitätsspital Basel, Research cooperation

Publications

Jotterand, Fabrice et al. (2019) Intelligent Assistive Technologies for Dementia: Clinical, Ethical, Social and Regulatory Implications. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190459802.001.0001.

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Jotterand, Fabrice (2019) ‘Personal Identity, Neuroprosthesis, and Alzheimer’s Disease’, in Jotterand, Fabrice; Ienca, Marcello; Wangmo, Tenzin; Elger, Bernice Simone (ed.) Intelligent Assistive Technologies for Dementia: Clinical, Ethical, Social and Regulatory Implications. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Intelligent Assistive Technologies for Dementia: Clinical, Ethical, Social and Regulatory Implications), pp. 188–202. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190459802.003.0011.

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Ienca, Marcello, Jotterand, Fabrice and Elger, Bernice S. (2018) ‘From Healthcare to Warfare and Reverse: How Should We Regulate Dual-Use Neurotechnology?’, Neuron, 97(2), pp. 269–274. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.12.017.

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Schekter, Viviane, Ienca, Marcello and Elger, Bernice Simone (2017) ‘Supporting Families and Children Living in the Shadow of Prisoners’, in Elger, Bernice S.; Ritter, Catherine; Stöver, Heino (ed.) Emerging Issues in Prison Health. Dordrecht: Springer (Emerging Issues in Prison Health), pp. 13–34. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7558-8_2.

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Ienca, Marcello and Haselager, Pim (2016) ‘Hacking the brain: brain-computer interfacing technology and the ethics of neurosecurity’, Ethics and Information Technology, 18(2), pp. 117–129. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9398-9.

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Ienca, Marcello and Jotterand, Fabrice (2016) ‘Intelligent Assistive Technologies for Dementia: Social, Legal and Ethical Implications’. Windesheim Flevoland: Windesheim Flevoland. Available at: http://newfriends2015.org/Proceedings/Contents/Papers/New_Friends_2015_submission_39.pdf.

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Ienca, Marcello et al. (2016) ‘Social and Assistive Robotics in Dementia Care: Ethical Recommendations for Research and Practice’, International Journal of Social Robotics, 8(4), pp. 565–573. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-016-0366-7.

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Ienca, Marcello (2016) ‘The Contribution of Blindsight to the Understanding of Consciousness: Empirical, Conceptual and Normative Implications’, in Lavazza, Andrea (ed.) Frontiers in Neuroethics: Conceptual and Empirical Advancements. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing (Frontiers in Neuroethics: Conceptual and Empirical Advancements), pp. 33–52. Available at: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/frontiers-in-neuroethics.

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Stüfen, Frank, Ienca, Marcello and Elger, Bernice Simone (2016) ‘Spiritual Help During Detention: Specific Responses to Different Stages and Types of Imprisonment’, in Elger, Bernice Simone; Ritter, Catherine; Stöver, Heino (ed.) Emerging Issues in Prison Health. Netherlands: Springer (Emerging Issues in Prison Health), pp. 85–106. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7558-8_6.

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Members (5)

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Bernice Simone Elger

Principal Investigator
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Fabrice Jotterand

Co-Investigator
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Reto W. Kressig

Co-Investigator
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Gabriela Stoppe

Co-Investigator
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Marcello Ienca

Project Member