With the Search for Alzheimer's Drugs Foundering, Tech Firms Try to Offer Solutions

Technology firms are seeking ways to make Alzheimer's more manageable and compensate for drug companies' failure to develop effective pharmaceutical solutions, reports STAT . Their goals include helping people with the disease better cope with symptoms, and delivering better support to family caregivers. Seniorlink, for example, has developed a digital communication platform to help coordinate care, while Dthera Sciences has created a therapy that uses music and images to help retrieve memories by analyzing facial expressions to identify the most beneficial sounds and visuals. Meanwhile, Ageless Innovation has invented robotic pets to help treat depression and social isolation that typically accompanies Alzheimer's. Ageless CEO Ted Fischer notes research from Pace University demonstrated that the products led to improved outcomes that included less hospitalization. Embodied Labs has a virtual reality program to educate caregivers about Alzheimer's and its effect on their loved ones. The product immerses users in various situations ranging from loss of cognitive function to changes in family relationships to caregiver burnout. "We not only go inside their lives, but inside their bodies, so they actually know what it's like to have this disease," says Embodied Labs CEO Carrie Shaw.