Abstract
BackgroundThe world’s aging population is increasing, with an expected increase in the prevalence of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Proper nutrition and good eating behavior show promise for preventing and slowing the progression of ADRD and consequently improving patients with ADRD’s health status and quality of life. Most ADRD care is provided by informal caregivers, so assisting caregivers to manage patients with ADRD’s diet is important.ObjectiveThis study aims to design, develop, and test an artificial intelligence–powered voice assistant to help informal caregivers manage the daily diet of patients with ADRD and learn food and nutrition-related knowledge.MethodsThe voice assistant is being implemented in several steps: construction of a comprehensive knowledge base with ontologies that define ADRD diet care and user profiles, and is extended with external knowledge graphs; management of conversation between users and the voice assistant; personalized ADRD diet services provided through a semantics-based knowledge graph search and reasoning engine; and system evaluation in use cases with additional qualitative evaluations.ResultsA prototype voice assistant was evaluated in the lab using various use cases. Preliminary qualitative test results demonstrate reasonable rates of dialogue success and recommendation correctness.ConclusionsThe voice assistant provides a natural, interactive interface for users, and it does not require the user to have a technical background, which may facilitate senior caregivers’ use in their daily care tasks. This study suggests the feasibility of using the intelligent voice assistant to help caregivers manage patients with ADRD’s diet.
Highlights
ProblemThe progressive brain disorder of Alzheimer disease (AD) causes brain cells to degenerate and die slowly; degrades memory and thinking skills; and, eventually, destroys the ability to perform the simplest tasks of daily life [1]
The voice assistant is being implemented in several steps: construction of a comprehensive knowledge base with ontologies that define ADRD diet care and user profiles, and is extended with external knowledge graphs; management of conversation between users and the voice assistant; personalized ADRD diet services provided through a semantics-based knowledge graph search and reasoning engine; and system evaluation in use cases with additional qualitative evaluations
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019, more than 16 million Americans provided about 18.5 billion hours of unpaid care for family and friends with ADRD [6]
Summary
ProblemThe progressive brain disorder of Alzheimer disease (AD) causes brain cells to degenerate and die slowly; degrades memory and thinking skills; and, eventually, destroys the ability to perform the simplest tasks of daily life [1]. The current growth of the population 65 years and older is one of the most significant demographic trends in US history [2], prompted by the aging of the baby boomers, who in 2030 will be 66-84 years of age and will number 61 million people [5]. People with AD and related dementias (ADRD) are usually cared for by family members or friends, most commonly in their own homes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019, more than 16 million Americans provided about 18.5 billion hours of unpaid care for family and friends with ADRD [6]. Most ADRD care is provided by informal caregivers, so assisting caregivers to manage patients with ADRD’s diet is important
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