Egocentric rich images detection in a serious game for Alzheimer’s patients

Abstract

[en] Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, right now irreversible and related with ageing. It is caused by neuronal deterioration which leads to memory loss, intellectual impairment and personality disorders and behavior. Several international reports warn that Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, affecting between 60% and 70% of the total number of cases. In addition, it has been estimated that at least 5% of the world’s population with more than 60 years old will suffer the disease at some point in their life. Despite the social and economic impact of the disease, there is still no treatment that can cure dementia or prevent its evolution. It is for this reason that efforts to find solutions that diminish the progressive development of the disease have been growing increasingly, building a society aware of these problems. The World Health Organization recognized dementia as a public priority in the report: "Dementia: a public health priority"[27]. The TV program L.La Marató de TV3"decided to dedicate the show of the year 2013 to the eurodegenerative diseases. Granted by it, this work has been aimed at reinforcing the inclusion of the new technologies in areas related with health to promote the improvement of Alzheimer’s patients. The framework developed in this project consists on the incorporation of a wearable camera that automatically takes pictures of the day of the patient. Subsequently, a selection is made, through the detection of objects in the images and a classification using Machine Learning algorithms, of those photographs which can bring value to the cognitive reinforcement of the patient. A serious game based on this pictures has been built to enhance this behavior.