HippoCamera: Digital Memory Augmentation

• Hippocamera is a memory augmentation technology that aides in the recall and storage of memories
• The technology features novel methods to tag and replay recorded moments to promote rich reliving and storage of experiences
• In older adults with memory impairments, memories become weaker and it is more difficult to chain related memories together. This can produce a disorienting and isolating lack of coherence. Hippocamera aims not only to boost memory for single events, but to reinforce relationships between meaningfully-connected people and events.

HippoCamera Video from Carson Pun on Vimeo.

OPPORTUNITY

• Age-related memory loss is typically characterized by impoverished retrieval of event-specific details and is thought to reflect reduced hippocampal integrity. This decline in rich autobiographical memory diminishes one’s sense of identity and autonomy, leading to a vicious cycle of social isolation and depression, which in turn exacerbates memory loss.
• 15% of individuals over the age of 65 (564,000 Canadians) are currently living with dementia. By 2031, it is expected that 937,000 people will be afflicted. It is the nation’s most expensive condition, costing $33 billion annually (a figure set to rise to $293 billion by 2040).
• Worldwide, nearly 44 million people have Alzheimer’s or a related dementia, including more than 5.5 million Americans (including 8.4 million Americans 65+ by 2030)

STATUS

• The team continues to engage in partnerships with assisted living facilities
• An app has been developed and the technology is available for licensing
• Patent granted: US11397774B2: System and method for digital enhancement of hippocampal replay
• Future work includes:
  • Automatically increasing the replay of positive memories
  • On-screen labeling of names and locations during replay
  • “On-demand” replay of memories that are relevant to the current situation