A new mobile app developed in Singapore promises to prevent the progression of dementia by improving multilingual thinking in the elderly.
A team of app developers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has created what may be the world’s first multilingual app for preventing dementia, called Ami (which stands for Advancing Mental Invigoration).
Its prototype was recently launched at one of the Lions Clubs International Active Aging Centers.
This intervention tool, designed for both cognitively healthy seniors and those showing early signs of dementia, features three touch-screen games in six different languages and dialects. Each game is presented in single or dual language modes and includes an avatar that provides instructions, prompts and assistance to the user throughout the game.
Lions Clubs International plans to install Ami on approximately 1,000 IM-OK tablets by December 2023.
The SUTD team developed Ami to test the scientific hypothesis that being bilingual or multilingual can have a positive impact on the cognitive abilities of older adults. Citing a study, Associate Professor Yow Wei Quin, Acting Head of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Cluster at SUTD, said: “Cognitive games presented in two languages can significantly improve the cognitive skills and verbal memory of elderly users compared to those who play monolingual games or no games at all. The same study also found that older people with cognitive impairment showed improvement in their verbal learning skills six months after playing such games.