Evaluation of ReminX as a Behavioral Intervention for Mild to Moderate Dementia

Abstract

Dementia is a growing global challenge that is difficult to treat. Pharmaceutical treatment approaches have had limited success, leading to an increased focus on nonpharmaceutical approaches to the treatment of dementia. A clinical pilot study was performed to evaluate whether ReminX digital therapeutic software, based on reminiscence therapy, has the potential to improve emotional functioning in patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. ReminX allows the uploading of pictures and narration to create slideshow stories depicting important moments in the patient's life. Fourteen patients were evaluated in their home, and their emotional health was assessed both before and after using ReminX. Results indicated that patients reported significantly less anxiety, depression, and overall emotional distress after having viewed their story. Furthermore, patient's caregivers also reported that the patient appeared less emotionally distressed. The effect sizes for the significant results ranged from 0.76 to 0.91. These effect sizes, which were larger than anticipated, suggest that digitally-delivered reminiscence therapy can have an immediate and positive impact on emotional functioning in patients with dementia. In addition, the accessibility, scalability, and ease of use of the software platform suggests that this technology holds great promise as a product for use in both the home and senior care settings.