Smart Glasses for Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to identify and synthesize peer-reviewed literature on smart glasses for older adults with cognitive impairment. The review focused on (1) the technology and equipment used, (2) the specific tasks smart glasses are designed to support, (3) feasibility outcomes, when measured, and (4) the quality of the reviewed articles.

Design: Scoping review.

Setting and participants: Older adults with cognitive impairment.

Methods: A research librarian conducted a comprehensive search across 8 databases to identify peer-reviewed studies that investigated the use of smart glasses for older adults with cognitive impairment. Two authors independently used Covidence to review articles for extraction and organization.

Results: Our search yielded 414 articles and 13 were included for data extraction and appraisal. All included studies were rated as low quality. Seven studies focused on commercially available smart glasses and 6 focused on early-stage prototypes of smart glasses. Only 5 studies involved hands-on testing with older adults, and just one study exclusively involved participants with cognitive impairment. The main purpose of the smart glasses included assisting older adults with daily tasks, recognizing faces, aiding in navigation, and helping care partners locate or monitor individuals with cognitive impairment.

Conclusions and implications: More rigorous studies are needed to test smart glasses among older adults with cognitive impairment and the literature does not reflect the recent advancements in smart glasses technology. Future smart glasses research should include more interdisciplinary teams, utilize user-centered design frameworks, and obtain long-term feasibility and effectiveness data among larger samples of older adults with cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Smart glasses; cognitive impairment; dementia; older adults; technology.