SenseCam Aids Patients with Memory Problems

Ponca City, We Love You writes "A small digital camera developed by Microsoft Research could boost memory in people with dementia and possibly mild forms of Alzheimer's disease. SenseCam is worn around the neck and automatically takes a wide-angle, low-resolution photograph every 30 seconds. It contains an accelerometer to stabilize the image and reduce blurriness, and it can be configured to take pictures in response to changes in movement, temperature, or lighting. An entire day's events can be captured and downloaded onto a PC where software converts the pictures into a short movie displaying the images at up to 10 frames per second, to allow patients to view a day's events in a few minutes to jolt their memory. "Not only does SenseCam allow people to recall memories while they are looking at the images, which in itself is wonderful, but after an initial period of consolidation, it appears to lead to long-term retention of memories over many months, without the need to view the images repeatedly," says neuropsychologist Emma Berry."

Comments

I think

[Martian_Kyo]

this image would have been more appropriate for this article http://images.slashdot.org/topics/topicms.gif

Just remember

[DrXym]

Do not believe Teddy's lies.

Loss of connections

[BadAnalogyGuy]

The problem of memory in Alzheimer patients (at least at the early stages) is not one of forgetfulness, so much, but the loss of context due to the loss of connections between two situations. A patient could sit down with a lunch tray at the hospital cafeteria when a nurse walks in the door and the patient would suddenly be unclear as to why they were in the cafeteria in the first place. Oliver Sacks discusses this quite a bit in his books. By taking the patient through the series of events, leaving out the extraneous information like the nurse walking in, it is possible to reconnect the events for the patient and they will typically be able to regain their "memory".

Now, if deodorant makers would simply stop using Aluminum oxide in their products, we could probably cut the number of Alzheimer cases in half, but it's no big surprise that the makers of those products are also the ones making the drugs to treat the disease.

Re:Loss of connections

[Sen.NullProcPntr]

Now, if deodorant makers would simply stop using Aluminum oxide in their products, we could probably cut the number of Alzheimer cases in half, but it's no big surprise that the makers of those products are also the ones making the drugs to treat the disease. Not sure about the conspiracy connection;-) While aluminum can cause memory related problems most research has not found any direct link with Alzheimer's.

Aluminum can be found in many other products that come in contact with our bodies, even tap water.

Sure, but...

[MykeBNY]

That's great and all, that technology is being used to help people.

But I have to wonder, now, how people with cameras around their necks will be treated. Will they be arrested as terrorists for taking pictures of busy streets and important bridges? Will they be barred from entering many businesses who have a "no pictures" policy? If they witness a crime, will they be hassled to give up their helpful device for evidence? Or worse yet, be a higher-risk target for the bad guys wanting to make sure that evidence is destroyed?

Furthermore, where does their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness end and my right to privacy begin? I don't like being monitored without my knowledge/permission.

On the other hand, integrate a GPS and a voluntary program, and they could earn extra income from Google Streets for getting updated street-level pictures of cities... ;)

Equal time for Grandma

[Delusion_]

SenseCam is worn around the neck and automatically takes a wide-angle, low-resolution photograph every 30 seconds. Excellent! Now Grandma can take crappy photos nearly as often as drunk girls at bars do with their cellphones.

respect

[Errtu76]

I don't care what company you are and what products you normally sell. If you can create something as useful as this, you deserve respect. Well done!

I quickly scanned the article, but i couldn't find a built-in lcd. That would've been perfect, although i can assume the power comsumption would be too heavy and you'll end up losing half a day because of it. *shrug* Wonderful device though.

Interesting

[inKubus]

I could see how you could use this in school, to capture a lecture in a very basic form. Then you can run through 1 minute of audio around the time each picture was taken (say every 5 minutes) and review a 50 minute lecture in 10 minutes. Of course it's possible to record all the audio (the snippet function would be in software), so if you came to a spot that you needed to fully review, you could listen to all the audio of the section. I think that if dementia patients could benefit from this then everyone can.

It might be useful to add some additional information, such as geocoordinates, to the recordings also. Then you could "tag" your regular locations (such as the lecture hall, etc), and set up rules to automatically download and save to certain categories in the database, based on the location you were at when they recorded. So, for instance, you could set up a rule that all recordings at the coordinates of Lecture Hall One should be saved to "Physics Lectures", and all recordings at the coordinates of Lecture Hall Two go to "Accounting Lectures". It's going to need to be automatic if people are going to use it.