About the Program

 
 

The goal of the LifeZig program was to enhance the quality of life for individuals with dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their families/caregivers with reminiscence therapy based on the LifeZig system, incorporating personalized digital photos and music, which helped to decrease the burden of care to families/caregivers, and contributed to positive interaction between AD patients and families/caregivers.

This project was conducted by Photozig, Inc., at NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, with funding provided by the National Institute on Aging.

Individuals with dementia and their caregivers participated in the LifeZig research project. Caregivers received instructions and were trained on how to develop personalized reminiscence material based on personal pictures and music. Materials that were relevant to the individual with dementia were selected. These pictures and music were digitally uploaded into the LifeZig system and shown in slide-show form on a television to the individual with dementia. The individual with dementia received this type of reminiscence therapy for the duration of 6 months.

Phase I established the feasibility of LifeZig. In Phase II, the LifeZig system was completed, and successfully evaluated with a randomized clinical trial (n=102 subjects), demonstrating the effectiveness of LifeZig to improve the quality of life of both dementia patients and families.