| Summary: | The prevalence of advanced medical treatment has led to global population aging, resulting in increased numbers of dementia patients. One of the most intractable symptoms of dementia is apathy, or lack of interest and enthusiasm, which can accompany memory and cognitive deterioration. Development of a novel method to ameliorate apathy is desirable. In this feasibility trial, we propose a series of digital art installations as a candidate dementia intervention approach. Seven, three-minute scenes of digital images and sounds were presented to visitors either passively or in response to their reactions (motion and sound). We evaluated the potential of this application as an intervention against apathy in an elderly living home. We collected the dementia global standard Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and questionnaire scores of sensory pleasure and motivation along with behavioral motion data in twenty participants. We further compared responses between the first and second experiences in the thirteen participants that were present for both days. Overall, we found a significant increase in participants’ motivation. In these subjects, head and right hand motion increased over different scenes and MMSE degrees, but was most significant during passive scenes. Despite a small number of subjects and limited evaluations, this new digital art technology holds promise as an apathy intervention in the elderly and can be improved with use of wearable motion sensors.
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