SAMS - Software Architecture for Mental health Self management

SAMS is a proposed 3-year project to that will investigate the potential for novel data and text mining techniques for detecting subtle signs of Cognitive Dysfunction that may indicate the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Promoting self-awareness of change in cognitive function is will investigate the potential for novel data and text mining techniques for detecting subtle signs of change in cognition that may indicate the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Promoting self-awareness of change in cognitive function is a key step in encouraging people to self-refer for clinical evaluation. A key motivation for SAMS, therefore, is to provide a non-invasive tool that helps develop such self-awareness.
An increasing number of older people, the group most at risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia, regularly use the Internet to keep in touch with their families, particularly grandchildren. This Internet activity presents an opportunity to harness rich, routinely available information that may contain indications of changes in the linguistic, executive and motor speed abilities in older people.
Development work is needed to develop the software to harness this opportunity, to establish the optimal thresholds for flagging up important changes in cognition and the optimal methods for feeding this information back to individuals. SAMS will validate thresholds by examining changes in performance in people with established cognitive dysfunction and mild Alzheimer's disease and begin to explore the potential for technology-enhanced detection of early cognitive dysfunction. Patterns of computer use and content analysis of e-mails, such as forgetting topics, expressions of concern, emotion, etc., will be analysed and coupled to feedback mechanisms to enhance users' cognitive self awareness, empowering them self administer follow up tests and decide when to self refer themselves for expert medical advice.
Tackling cognitive change detection requires the novel pooling of knowledge and integration of techniques from different sub-disciplines within a Computer Science. In addition to developing techniques for MCI detection and supporting self-referral, an explicit goal of the research is to develop a generic sense making and user-centred feedback architecture. This could be applied to a wide range of problems where interpreting computer use may be appropriate, e.g. mental health, social loneliness, privacy and social exploitation.

From strand 1, the elderly and other potential patients of Alzheimer's disease will be the main beneficiaries as the prototype software will be released as an operational product by the Alzheimer Society, and NHS-related organisations such as e-Heath NW and the Institute for Health Sciences in Manchester and the MRC Centre in Kings. The health impact will be a decrease in the number of people suffering from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease because early interventions will delay progress of symptoms and future research may eventually prevent onset. More widely, the SAMS system will improve detection of, and intervention for a wide range of ageing and mental health problems. The tools will enable planning of home visits to encourage follow-up diagnosis as well as long-term management of dementia-related illness in the community, and coordinating with family and close friends of the patient. Wellbeing among the elderly will be improved by the reassurance afforded by awareness and self management of cognitive age-related problems.

Wider economic impacts will accrue from of reduction in healthcare costs resulting from delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Given the projected increase in the ageing population and hence exposure to cognitive impairment, there will be savings for the NHS, with fewer patients hospitalised after dementia-related accidents and reduced community care; with even greater savings for local authority home care budgets as full-time care home/home visit support will be reduced. Taking a very conservative estimate of delaying the onset of incapacity related to dementia by one year of 10 % within the current UK patient population, assuming care cost savings of £20K per annum, the saving is £1,720 million recurrent per annum. Other economic impacts will arise from exploitation of the generic software architecture (strand 2) in a range of health management, education and related people centric tracking applications. The potential worldwide impact is obvious with ageing populations in all OECD countries and life long education being an international priority.

From strand 2, companies in the general IT industry with interests in monitoring, tracking and feedback/management applications based on interaction data and text document context will benefit from the generic architecture and reusing its components in products ranging from marketing recommenders, to education and training progress trackers