Cognitive Exercise for Persons With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Using a Social Robot

Reminiscence therapy (RT) can improve the mood and communication of persons living with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's-disease-related dementias (PLWD). Traditional RT requires professionals' facilitation, limiting its accessibility to PLWD. Social robotics has the potential to facilitate RT, enabling accessible home-based RT. However, studies are needed to investigate how PLWD would perceive a robot-mediated reminiscence therapy (RMRT) and how to develop RMRT for positive user experience and successful adoption. In this article, we develop a prototype of RMRT using a humanoid social robot and test it with 12 participants (seven PLWD, two with mild cognitive impairment, and three informal caregivers). The robot automatically displays a memory trigger on its tablet and engages participants in a relatable conversation during RMRT. A mixed-method approach is employed to assess its acceptability and usability. Our results show that PLWD have an overall positive user experience with the RMRT. Participants laugh and sing along with the robot during RMRT and demonstrate intention to use it. In addition, we discuss a robot control method and several critical problems for RMRT. The RMRT can facilitate both verbal and nonverbal social interaction for PLWD and holds promise for engaging, personalized, and efficient home-based cognitive exercises for PLWD.