Robots May Soon Join Ranks of Alzheimer's Caregivers

Scientists worldwide are exploring ways in which robots might help care for people with Alzheimer's disease, reports HealthDay News . One machine known as Silbot3 has shown promise in this field, says Elizabeth Broadbent with the University of Auckland in New Zealand. "It is designed to enable people to stay at home for longer before needing to go into a care home," she notes. "While a human could help with these things, the burden on caregivers of people with dementia is very high. Some people do not have a caregiver at home and caregivers often need a break during the day to get other things done. Robots can help provide extra care." Other teams are concentrating on using robots to counter the loneliness and isolation that some people with Alzheimer's feel. The National University of Ireland-Galway's School of Nursing and Midwifery is experimenting with MARIO, a robot designed to "provide companionship and support the person with dementia to connect and/or remain connected to their family and friends, and stay engaged in activities and events that interest them," says Professor Dympna Casey. "Caregivers of people with dementia carry a really heavy burden," notes the Alzheimer's Association's James Hendrix. "If there's a way we can lighten that burden for folks a little bit, make it a little easier for them, that's going to help the person with dementia as well. Their care partner is just going to be that much more rested, that much more healthy, and that much more happy."