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A 14-Year-Old Made An App To Help Alzheimer’s Patients Recognize Their Loved Ones (Fast Company):

“When Emma Yang was 7 or 8 years old, her grandmother became increasingly forgetful. Over the next few years, those memory problems, caused by early Alzheimer’s disease, worsened. Yang, who learned to code at an early age, decided to create an app to help…

In her app under development, called Timeless, Alzheimer’s patients can scroll through photos of friends and family, and the app will tell them who the person is and how they’re related to the patient using facial recognition tech. If a patient doesn’t recognize someone in the same room, they can take a picture and the tech will also try to automatically identify them…

The app is still in development, and Yang doesn’t yet have proof that it will work. In a Crowdfunding Campaign, she’s raising money to take the next step of piloting it with patients. But she is optimistic that it can help, especially if introduced to someone in the early stages of the disease.

“There are no apps on the market that really help Alzheimer’s patients with their daily lives,” she says. “A lot of times people think that it’s not going to help, or the elderly can’t really use technology, but in fact, if you strategically introduce it to them, it’s actually a possibility and can really benefit their lives.”

The Crowdfunding Campaign

Timeless — A Mobile App for Alzheimer’s Patients, at IndieGogo:

• Overview: Have you seen the movie “Alice”? Have you ever experienced the difficulties Alzheimer’s patients face as a result of memory loss? Timeless is a first-of-its-kind, simple, caregiver-assisted, easy to use mobile app for Alzheimer’s patients to remember events, stay engaged & connected with friends and family, and to recognize people through AI-based facial recognition technology. Timeless helps with all the different aspects of Alzheimer’s patients’ lives in a single tool and empowers them to live better daily lives!

The App in Context

• 10 Solvers selected @ MIT Solve’s Brain Health Challenge
• Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright
• Presentation by Emma Yang at the 2017 SharpBrains Virtual Summit: