Story Highlights

Tracking cognitive abilities

Even with the advancement in medicine in the past decades, there has yet to be a cure for dementia as we grow old. Medmind employs gaming technology to slow the process and help healthcare professionals detect signs of the disease as early as possible. Adopted at Pine Care Point in Shek Kip Mei, one of Chinachem Group’s premium care homes specifically designed to serve the special needs of elderly residents suffering from dementia, it has been met with a very positive response.

“In the past, elderly people at a care home may play with Jenga pieces or complete worksheets as daily tasks, but there would not be any data saved and systematic analysis,” said Nathan Hui, Co-founder & CEO of Medmind. “Using our system, as a user plays with our games for six months to a year, the artificial intelligence can record the trend in their cognitive abilities and give recommendations. Healthcare professionals can take actions before their situations decline significantly.”

Get people out of their comfort zone

The NeuroGym system developed by Medmind provides several activities for elderly people, such as writing calligraphy, playing mahjong, daily tasks such as going to a yum cha restaurant or a street market, reminding them what they used to do on a daily basis.

“As elderly people at Pine Care Point have their rooms, it has not been easy to encourage them to come out and play with each other,” Hui said. “Colleagues there tell us that with the system, the rate of participation has been very high compared to activities done in the past. This is something that has made them very delighted.”

Maintain health from games

Meanwhile, Medmind also developed the PhysioPlay system to help elderly people exercise and retain their muscles. They could be playing curling on a smart table, throwing darts and shooting arrows all using a digital screen and small props. Although the city lacks space, the system helps creating the environment for physical games with minimal amount of room.

The artificial intelligence behind the system is capable of analysing their body movements and postures, before giving feedback to healthcare professionals.

“This technology uses little space and equipment, but it creates maximum effectiveness for our users,” Hui said. “Using the platform, we can train the balance, reaction, and coordination skills of elderly people, to help them maintain a healthy life.”

Nathan Hui, Co-founder & CEO of Medmind Technology