Psychiatric Times 
November 2005
Vol. XXII
Issue 13
Home computers, personal organizers, cell phones and microwave ovens are now commonplace. We are increasing the use of technology to make our lives easier. Technology also has the potential to offer the same, or even greater, benefits to people with both physical and cognitive impairments.
People with a diagnosis of dementia experience progressive cognitive impairments that typically start with working memory problems but can encompass speech production, planning, monitoring and visuospatial difficulties as the condition advances. "Dementia ... makes a person exceptionally dependent on others: not only in the physical sense, but in a psychological sense as well" (Kitwood, 1998). Technology offers potential interventions for people with dementia to maintain their independence and maximize their retained abilities for as long as possible. This includes both practical solutions to managing the activities of everyday life and interventions geared to meeting psychological needs.
Recent initiatives such as the ASTRID Project, ENABLE Project and Alzheimer's Association Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer Care (ETAC) highlight the possibilities offered by technology to address the needs of people with dementia. Currently, developments in dementia are focused on meeting needs in three broad areas: safety, security and social interaction. Some of these projects represent the application of technologies in everyday use in wider society to dementia care. Other projects are developing technology specifically tailored to the needs of people with dementia. Efficacy, as well as some of the issues raised by these developments, is briefly considered here.
Safety Needs
The most controversial application of technology in dementia care is in the use of tracking and surveillance equipment. Such technology is increasingly being advocated and adopted as a way of keeping people with dementia safe. For example, global positioning systems are advertised on the Internet as personal locators and tracking devices for people with dementia and other cognitive impairments. In addition, electronic tagging is being used in dementia care facilities as an alternative to locked doors and medication to keep people from becoming lost (Bail, 2003).
Tagging is controversial, not because of the technology per se but due to its association with incarceration and control (Welsh et al., 2003). Specifically, the use of tagging in the criminal justice system as an alternative to prison raises issues of how we view people with dementia, their personal autonomy, and their human and civil rights.
