Elderly people, including those with dementia, are ‘traveling the world’ by bicycle with the help of new technology, a video published by AXA and The Sunday Times has shown.
As part of its partnership with News UK, AXA and The Sunday Times are highlighting the work of the cycling initiative ‘Motiview’, created by eldercare specialists Motitech.
Motiview allows elderly people and those with dementia to take a virtual bike tour in locations around the world, as well as familiar places such as patients’ home towns.
The set-up includes an exercise bike placed in front of a screen which shows the route as if the patient is cycling in real-time. The result has not only improved mobility for patients, but also bettered self-efficacy, social interaction, strength and balance, sleep and has decreased pain.
The video also highlights last year’s winners of the ‘Innovation in the early Diagnosis of Dementia’ category in the AXA Health Tech and You Awards, Aparito and Cognetivity. Both companies have created pioneering technology that helps detect, treat and improve the lives of those living with dementia.
Aparito is a wearable device that provides remote monitoring of dementia patients outside of the hospital environment. The continued monitoring provides real-time data for clinicians to capture subtle differences in ambulation and sleeping patterns, which can’t be conveyed during short clinic visits.
Meanwhile, Cognetivity is a five-minute integrated cognitive assessment (ICA) tool able to detect the earliest signs of impairment by testing the performance of large areas of the brain. The ICA is easy to administer and, through utilising artificial intelligence, continuously improves its ability to diagnose as it gathers new data.
Eugene Farrell, Mental Health Lead at AXA PPP healthcare, said: “Innovation in technology and dementia care has enabled us to detect and manage the condition in ways that just weren’t possible before. Companies such as Motitech, Aparito and Cognetivity are providing solutions that improve cognitive ability as well as physical and mental wellbeing for elderly patients and those living with dementia. The result is a better quality of life not just for the patients, but their families and the staff looking after them.”
The video can be viewed here.
www.axa.com/en
