A New Era In Dementia Care

Dementia affects nearly 11 million Americans, with that number expected to double by 2050. Families and caregivers are faced with the difficult challenge of managing agitation and emotional distress in individuals with dementia, often leading to increased falls, hospitalizations and caregiver burnout.

But what if cutting-edge technology could help ease this burden?

Adey Nyamathi, Ph.D., A.N.P., F.A.A.N., a leading researcher at UC Irvine and UC Noyce Initiative scholar, is leading a team who are at the forefront of a groundbreaking initiative that combines artificial intelligence with empathetic care. Her UC Noyce-funded project is exploring the use of Care Companion Robots (CCR) to mitigate agitation and emotional distress in dementia patients through empathetic patient-robot interactions.

A Vision for AI-Driven Care

Nyamathi is leading a multi-institutional team a including experts from:

• UC Irvine School of Medicine,
• Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at UC Irvine,
• Purdue University’s Department for Digital Innovation,
• Pepperdine School of Business,
• and international collaborators with NaviGAIT, a company that creates care companion robots.

Together, Nyamathi and her team are expanding upon NaviGAIT’sCCR that conducts gait analysis to develop an innovative pioneering model that integrates computer vision, AI-driven emotional recognition and real-time intervention strategies to assist caregivers in managing high-risk dementia patients.

Merging AI with Compassion

Nyamathi and her team are focusing on monitoring walking patterns, tracking emotional states and utilizing machine learning to predict agitation. The system collects and stores real-time data, analyzing a patient’s gait, movements and emotional state. Through a combination of visual and audio sensing technologies, they are evaluating the CCR’s ability to assess a patient’s well-being and provide caregivers with timely alerts when interventions may be needed. 

In addition, Nyamathi’s team has designed nine personas and nine daily activity maps that includes detailed information of a representative person with dementia’s background, personal preferences, cultural aspects and mobility issues. These tools will help the engineers, computer scientists and linguistic experts develop the models necessary to allow AI-driven CCRs to engage with dementia patients in a highly personalized way, ensuring that interactions are empathetic, human-like and tailored to individual needs.

"The goal is not to replace human interaction, but to add the care-companion robot to the care team for a person with dementia” Nyamathi said. “And for those who do not have a care team available because of socioeconomic reasons or geographic limitations such as family not living nearby, our CCR system can provide them with an option for care.” 

A Transformative Impact on Dementia Care

This project is shifting the paradigm by introducing proactive, AI-assisted interventions that enhance both patient safety and emotional well-being. Through rigorous testing in state-of-the-art simulation labs and real-world settings, the CCR system is showing promising results in development of the models and algorithms needed to potentially reduce agitation and fall risk. By assessing emotional states in real time, the CCR may provide a new layer of personalized, around-the-clock support for individuals with moderate to severe dementia.

“The goal is to create a system that can forecast and recognize agitation, then intervene using empathetic communication,” Nyamathi explained. “By leveraging computational models and linguistic theories, we aim to test the ability of the CCR to reduce falls, and thus prevent unnecessary injuries and hospitalizations, as well as alleviating the burden on caregivers.” 

The Economic Burden of Dementia Care

Caring for individuals with dementia is not only emotionally taxing, but can also be financially overwhelming. In theUnited States, the annual cost of dementia care exceeds $345 billion, with a significant portion of that burden fallingon family caregivers who often sacrifice their own careers, health and financial stability. Many families face out-of-pocket expenses for in-home care, assisted living and medical treatments — costs that can quickly become unsustainable. By integrating AI-driven CCRs, Nyamathi and her team’s research aims to one day reduce hospitalizations, prevent costly falls and alleviate caregiver burnout, which could ultimately lower health care expenditures and provide families with much-needed financial relief. 

“By empowering caregivers with innovative tools, we are not only improving patient outcomes but also making dementia care more financially sustainable,” Nyamathi explained.

UC Noyce Provides Valuable Seed Funding

UC Noyce played a pivotal role in launching this research, providing the seed funding needed to explore new computational models, engage students and faculty, and establish foundational research.

“The UC Noyce funding has opened doors to major grant opportunities,” Nyamathi said. “We are now actively pursuing additional funding through NIH and other national programs to expand this research.” 

Beyond financial support, the UC Noyce has also fostered creating an interdisciplinary research team, allowing Nyamathi to engage more than 20 members consisting of 10 Ph.D. faculty, clinicians, international engineers, and students at multiple academic levels into the project.

The Future of AI in Dementia Care

Looking ahead, Nyamathi’s team is focused on further refining their empathy-driven conversational AI models, which will be used in real-world patient care settings. By integrating large language models with behavioral forecasting, they aim to create a comprehensive AI system capable of truly understanding and responding to the needs of dementia patients. With ongoing advancements and the continued support of the UC Noyce, this research is paving the way for a future where AI and emotional intelligence work hand in hand to improve dementia care.

“In the near future, we envision companion robots becoming an essential part of dementia care,” Nyamathi said. “By combining technology with empathy, we are not just building better AI — we are building a better quality of life for patients and caregivers alike.”