NIH to fund development, testing of robots to aid in Alzheimer's disease care

The University of New Hampshire announced it will receive a 5-year, $2.8 million grant from NIH to develop and test social assistive robots to elevate at-home care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Caring for aging adults, especially those dealing with progressive Alzheimer’s and dementia, can place a high burden on family caregivers who cannot be with their care recipients 24/7,” Sajay Arthanat, PhD, professor of occupational therapy at the University of New Hampshire, said in a university release. “The ultimate goal of this research is to help support those caregivers while keeping their family member healthy and active at home.”

According to the release, an interdisciplinary team of researchers created a prototype robot that has been tested in a controlled lab setting. The grant will help the university expand its efforts and create a technological framework to develop social assistive robots with additional capabilities that will benefit AD patients a home setting. Some of those features include compatibility with motion control cameras and sensors commonly found in homes, as well as voice alerts to remind patients to take their medication.

“With this grant, we will be able to further develop the robot’s technological framework from not only using smart home devices but also artificial intelligence and wearables, like a smart watch, to help gauge the patient’s activity level, health management and connectedness with caregivers,” Momotaz Begum, PhD, assistant professor of computer science, said in the release.