Our team created this app as high schoolers, and neither of us had any prior app development
experience before AlzBuddy.
After getting the idea from our experiences with family members
with dementia and working in a nursing home facility, we self-taught ourselves the Flutter SDK
through YouTube tutorials and created the app.
The most challenging aspect of developing the mobile app was figuring out the precise activities
and modules that would be most beneficial to our user-base.
To address this issue, we
interviewed subject experts, nursing home administrators, and spoke to users in order to get
insights into different features that would be most beneficial to users.
With this tight
feedback-loop, we've been able to create a user experience that we know will create a positive
impact on the lives of individuals living with dementia globally.
Rithvik Ganesh - Co-Founder, AlzBuddyThe interviewee, Rithvik Ganesh, is the Co-Founder of AlzBuddy. Rithvik has engaged and published Alzheimer’s Research for the past 6 years, and was named “Young Advocate of the Year” by the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement. Rithvik was also named second place at the International Science and Engineering Fair for his research aimed at finding treatments for Alzheimer’s.
Some of our favorite apps include Messenger (our favorite way to communicate), AMdroid (amazing user experience and the go-to alarm clock for several years now), Among Us (never gets boring), and Mp3Juice (great for offline music).
Our original idea for the first iteration of the app came up around 3 years ago. Our current version of the app was developed over the past year.
Informed by our own experiences, we've seen a lack of engaging activities for dementia
patients, especially those in nursing home settings.
This is the need that we hoped to address
when creating AlzBuddy, which provides these engaging activities to this population, whether it's
in the form of vintage music, fun games, or high-quality pictures.
We believe AlzBuddy sets itself apart from other similar apps due to its engaging & well-crafted
user experience and plethora of meaningful activities recommended by subject experts in the
industry.
AlzBuddy's simple yet engaging user-interface is designed specifically for seniors and
allows the users to access core functionalities easily. AlzBuddy also provides a wide-range of
features on one single platform, including thousands of vintage songs and hundreds of
high-resolution images with description.
As high-schoolers, we believe we bring a fresh
perspective emphasizing user-experience and interactivity into this space and we're proud to
have created an app that has left a positive impact on the lives of seniors across the world.
In additional versions of the app, we are hoping to add a plethora of new features.
Beyond adding new catalogs of vintage songs and pictures for our users, we want to include a "Daily"
Module with positive affirmations, daily motivational messages, and interesting facts to brighten
the days of our users.
We are also actively working on a variety of online games, including classics like Bingo and Solitaire.
We hope that seniors in your life can benefit from the engaging activities available on the AlzBuddy Mobile App. If you would like more information about the app & its creators, please visit alzbuddy.org.
About App:
Acclaimed by multiple subject experts, AlzBuddy is an interactive memory care assistant aimed at engaging seniors, especially those living with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia. The app’s simple yet elegant design paired with its research-based typography emphasizes convenience, utility, and interactivity. AlzBuddy, downloaded over 5,000 times to date in over 30 countries, contains three core modules: Sounds, Games, and Pictures.
The Sounds Module of AlzBuddy contains nearly 1,500 sounds: songs, commercials, speeches, karaoke, animal sounds, and more, all embedded directly within the application. Songs are categorized into three themes (“relaxed,” “groovy,” and “vibrant”) with top selections and hits across genres from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. The app helps spark great memories from the past by providing captivating tunes from Elvis Presley to Michael Jackson at the click of a button. Commercials include dozens of famous advertisements, grouped into several compilations, and users can hear political speeches ranging from FDR’s famous Four Freedoms Speech to Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address.
The Games Module of AlzBuddy contains six games, split evenly between games intended for individuals and those intended for group play. The three games for individuals are the Color Grid game, suggested by a medical professional to engage and challenge the user; a picture association game suggested by a nursing home, and a memory game. The color grid game requires the user to follow an instruction to color a specific button (in a grid of buttons the user can toggle) a particular color and check their answer with the click of a button. The game, which emphasizes the coordination and focusing skills of the user, is interactive and easy to understand. The picture association game helps reinforce important figures, objects, and events from history in a fun and engaging format. The classic memory game can be customized depending on the skill-level of the resident and involves toggling cards to make matchable pairs of colors or various customizable images.
The three group games are the Trivia Game, Password Game, and Discussion Activity. The trivia game includes over 300 questions. Furthermore, the password game brings Charades to the next level with over 350 potential clues that users can act out for others to guess. Finally, the discussion activity contains almost 100 questions that users can ask each other; caregivers and loved ones can also ask these questions, getting some quality time with the people they care for.
The Pictures Module of the AlzBuddy app includes a selection of over 800 pictures with descriptions. Images available include famous world figures (world leaders, athletes, musicians, and more) from 1950-1990, common animals, household objects, sports, holidays, elements of nature, and more. These images are aimed at helping the user remember and reminisce about key figures and items throughout their lives.
Overall, the AlzBuddy app has functionalities capable of engaging seniors and helping them reminisce about great memories. This free app is an excellent addition to the device of any senior looking for friendly, engaging, and quality content in an inviting format.
Categories: Tools
Date: September 12, 2022
Developer: Rithvik Ganesh - Co-Founder, AlzBuddy
About developer: The interviewee, Rithvik Ganesh, is the Co-Founder of AlzBuddy. Rithvik has ... Read more
Website: https://alzbuddy.org/
