Alzheimer assistant: a mobile application using Machine Learning

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is a condition characterized by a progressive symptomatic decline over several years. It causes memory loss and affects daily task performance. Memory loss leads to challenges including remembering people’s names, faces, places, or other information. In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence rate for Alzheimer’s disease is increasing and, accordingly, warrants attention and address. Thus, the objective of this work is to support Alzheimer’s patients with mild (early-stage) and moderate (middle-stage) conditions to remain involved in society and continue to live independently. We propose a mobile application which utilizes facial recognition technology and location detection using Google maps. The application aims to improve daily communication, enhancing their ability to perform daily tasks by the embedding of a notification feature. It has location detection to maintain the safety of Alzheimer’s patients, and help prevent them from getting lost by tracking their location. Results have shown that the application has benefited those living with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, and significantly support their daily lives. Therefore, this work highlights the importance of employing artificial intelligence (AI)-based features, i.e., face recognition in this specific case when developing healthcare applications which can have a significant impact on the community.

Keywords

• machine learning
• mobile application
• alzheimer’s disease
• face recognition