title: A planning system based on Markov decision processes to guide people with dementia through activities of daily living.
abstract: Older adults with dementia often cannot remember how to complete activities of daily living and require a caregiver to aid them through the steps involved. The use of a computerized guidance system could potentially reduce the reliance on a caregiver. This paper examines the design and preliminary evaluation of a planning system that uses Markov decision processes (MDPs) to determine when and how to provide prompts to a user with dementia for guidance through the activity of handwashing. Results from the study suggest that MDPs can be applied effectively to this type of guidance problem. Considerations for the development of future guidance systems are presented.
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Laboratory, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada. jen.boger@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boger
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoey
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poupart
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boutilier
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernie
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mihailidis
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D003704:Dementia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008390:Markov Chains; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D012984:Software; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface