DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A SMART TOOTHBRUSH FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA

Abstract

Dementia in general and Alzheimer’s Disease in particular, is one of the most challenging health conditions in our century. Experiencing cognitive decline, resulting in relying on others for daily living activities and impairment in basic mental tasks are the main symptoms. There are yet no proven treatments to slow or prevent neurodegenerative dementia progression; thus, dementia patients eventually need full-time care. To help patients to stay in their own homes longer and ease the caregiver burden, Smart Assistive Technology (SAT) products may be beneficial. One of the basic activities that Alzheimer’s patients in particular need help with, are basic hygiene needs such as brushing their teeth. A smart toothbrush has been designed and implemented as a pilot study towards development of a SAT for basic hygiene functions of dementia patients, while it can also have educational application for children. The design includes hardware and software. The hardware includes 9-Axis motion sensor, individually addressable light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Bluetooth Light Energy (BLE) communication module, laser distance sensor and other electrical components. The software includes real-time monitoring of several dependent and independent tasks using an algorithm to assist the users and transmit that data to a smartphone application. The real-time monitoring system of the designed prototype assists the users by visual and auditory means. It is anticipated the designed prototype will assist people with dementia, and hopefully prolong the time they can be cared for at home; it may also be used for oral hygiene education and instruction in general.