Creating Physical Objects with 3D Printers to Stimulate Reminiscing for Memory Loss

Abstract Fourteen percent of thoseand older in U Ssuffer from dementia and overmillion older Americans are living with Alzheimerandapos sByovermillion will have this disease and will experience impairments in cognitive and intellectual abilitymemorylanguagereasoningand judgment that interfere with everyday functioningCaregivers committed to person centered dementia care seek non pharmacological therapies that recognize the meaning of lifeauthenticityhistory and personal preferences of each individual personReminiscence therapyRTis a form of person centered dementia care that holds considerable promiseRT involves the discussion of past activitiesevents and experienceswith another person or small groupThis is often assisted byaidssuch as videospicturesand life storybooksResearch into the impact of RT has found many benefits including improvements in moodquality of lifesocial interactioncognitionand memoryBenefits for staff include increased knowledge of those in their care and a reduction in caregiver stressCaregiving staff can use physical objects as triggers or tangible prompts in RTObjects that have become autobiographical or evocative can be any sizeFortunatelyD printing technology has advanced to the point where it can be used to produce realistic replicas of autobiographical objects at a relatively low costThis Phaseproject has two aimsOneto design and implement an operational model for identifyingproducingand deployingD objects for RT while managing object fidelity and costA successful model such as this will be essential for commercializationensuring quality and cost controlSecondwe will conduct a randomized control field evaluation of RT usingD printed objectsWe have two hypothesesOver a regular program of RT consisting ofsessionsthe personal object replicas produced byD printing will be more effective in stimulating autobiographical memory than other stimuli to reminiscenceand will result in improvements in memorymoodsocial interactionand quality of lifeA dosage ofsessions of RT usingD objects will be more effective than a dosage ofsessions usingD objects plussessions of RT using other stimuli Project Narrative Inan estimatedmillion people ageand older had Alzheimerandapos s diseaseLonger life spans and aging baby boomers will cause this number to grow rapidlyMore thanof residents in assisted living and nursing homes have some form of dementia or cognitive impairment and the number is increasing every dayAs a form of person centerednon pharmacological dementia careReminiscence TherapyRTholds considerable promiseImprovements in moodquality of lifesocial interactioncognitionmemory and a reduction in caregiver stress have been notedThis project will develop an operational model for identifying and producingD personal objects usingD printing technologyand deploying them for use in RTThe research also will evaluate the effectiveness of usingD printed objects in RT compared to other types of memory stimuliThis novel approach to thepersonalizationof reminiscence therapy will result in better mental and physical health outcomes for individuals with dementia and the quality of the relationships they have with direct care staff will improve as well