HackToThePhture (HTTP://) - Bright Mind

We are HackToThePhture, aka HTTP://, and our project is called Bright Mind.

About Bright Mind

Bright Mind is a dual-interface app that connects early-stage dementia patients with their families and friends while engaging their cognitive function to help mitigate dementia symptoms. Two of our team members have experienced the journey of dementia with loved ones. This inspired us to create an app that supports cognitive health through engaging puzzles while maintaining strong connections with family and friends.

The Loved One – Family Member or Friend with Dementia

The Loved One interface is designed to be easy to use, tailored specifically for those in the early stages of dementia. Research supports our design choices: green remains recognizable longer, while blue promotes calm. Enlarged fonts improve legibility, and a text-to-speech feature makes navigation easier.

The Supporter – Family or Friend Providing Assistance

The Supporter has access to a dashboard that provides regular updates on their Loved One’s engagement. From the dashboard, they can upload photos, videos, and voice recordings, which are then used to create personalized, open-ended prompts for their Loved One.

Daily Engagement – Fostering Connection and Cognition

Each day, the Loved One opens the app to find an open-ended question—optionally delivered in their Supporter’s voice and possibly accompanied by a video. The app records their response, encouraging conversation and testing cognitive abilities while providing a comforting connection that may ease loneliness.

After responding, the Loved One engages with a puzzle in one of four categories: memory, reaction time, conflict resolution, or attention. Upon completing a puzzle, they earn a virtual flower as a reward, which is added to their personalized garden. Over time, this garden grows, creating a visual reminder of their achievements and encouraging consistent engagement. The virtual rewards system can be personalized according to the loved one's interests by the supporter in the app's settings and preferences - fostering a more engaging experience.

The Loved One can choose to continue with another activity or exit the app after each puzzle. If a puzzle remains incomplete, the app logs it and resets the activity after 24 hours.

Including this “garden reward” reinforces a sense of accomplishment, making each interaction not only cognitively stimulating but also visually rewarding. You could even consider adding different types of flowers or garden elements to represent different puzzle categories or milestones, making the experience more immersive!