NEW PRODUCT ASSISTS ELDERLY WITH MEMORY

    A new product was launched in April 2011 to help persons with short-term memory loss keep track of appointments, medications, tasks and other information they might otherwise forget. The Memo is a small web-enabled electronic device that repeats important messages and reminders. The elder needs no knowledge of computers to use the Memo—information is displayed automatically. Family caregivers can add and change messages on the Memo remotely, from wherever they have internet access, as often as needed.

    Several caregivers – for example an adult daughter in Dallas, a son in Boston, and a local aide – can all access the secure caregiver website with a password and coordinate the elder’s care by reading each other’s postings. In addition to a message line that either crawls across the screen or fades in and out, the Memo always displays the correct day, date, and time. Caregivers can add a calendar, a To Do List, phone numbers, a help button, a weather button, and photo albums to make the Memo more useful and entertaining.

    The caregiver website has been developed specifically for easy use by a caregiver with only basic internet and computing skills. It is intended to relieve stress and frustration for caregivers as well as to alleviate the chronic confusion of persons whose memory has been impaired by stroke, disease, injury, and other causes. Most caregivers of persons with short-term memory loss are familiar with the need to repeat simple instructions and information over and over before they “stick.”  The constant display of information on the Memo reduces both the constant repetition and the forgetting, so that both parties benefit.

    The Memo is a ten-inch Android touchscreen tablet computer made by Archos. With fine resolution, a kickstand to maintain a good viewing angle, and great reliability, the tablet can be purchased as a Memo for the same price as its normal retail cost ($299). The monthly subscription to the website is $29/month, with a considerable discount for annual subscriptions. The original Android operating system on the tablet is overridden by the Memo software to prevent a non-tech-savvy elder from accidentally touching a button or icon and zooming out into cyberspace with no way to return. However, if and when the family no longer wants to use the device as a Memo, the original operating system can be restored so it can used as a tablet computer. See www.memotouch.com for more information.   

Contact:

Merilee Griffin

For immediate release            

517-351-7743
                        

mg@memotouch.com
                       

www.memotouch.com