De BeleefTV: How an interactive table creates joy for those with dementia

In Germany, nearly 2 million people are living with dementia. Every year, another 300,000 persons succumb to the disease. Many caregivers are confronted with helping patients and family members once they are affected. In the Netherlands, a few resourceful developers took an interactive approach and teamed up with a nursing home: The result was De BeleefTV, a touchscreen table designed to help people with dementia to connect with their environment. During the trade fair, REHACARE.com sat down with Katharina Kleemann and talked about the challenges of dementia caregiving and found out how an interactive table can help.

"We consider our De Beleef TV an interactive connection between people with dementia and the outside world," Katharina Kleemann explains. "We believe that the biggest challenge for people with progressive dementia is to keep the ability to communicate with the outside world. And this is where we want to come in and help." How does it work? De BeleefTV is a folding table that is wheelchair accessible and electric height-adjustable, it is robust and waterproof, yet at the same time very easy to use by all nursing home residents, as well as by staff or family members, requiring no special instruction. Software packages now include ten themed games or activities in a variety of difficulty levels, ensuring that all residents can be challenged, encouraged and stimulated through the different stages of dementia. There’s something for everyone as participants can choose to engage in music activities, explore an interactive mom-and-pop store and play board games like Sorry! or Bingo.

Currently, 500 facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands use De BeleefTV. "Day-care centers, retirement homes, nursing homes and geriatric wards of hospitals use our TV." The company gets consistent positive feedback. "De BeleefTV increases activity levels tremendously. Many patients who typically don’t participate in group activities are attracted and intrigued by the device because - unlike other group activities that might be stressful - this is a calmer setup," says Katharina Kleemann. "Many patients have apathy and the TV prompts them to overcome it, while it also strengthens their fine motor skills. But above all, the table brings more joy to people." As a result, the team often gets reports of residents who excitedly reminisce about the past, even though they usually tend to retreat into their own thoughts. This also enables the care staff to learn more about the affected patients, to understand them better and find out what they like and might be interested in. The setting also makes it easier to care for them. Since the table was created in collaboration with a nursing home, the Dutch developers were able to gain insights into dementia caregiving. This allows Katharina Kleemann to identify room for improvement. "We notice that care staff is often in a time crunch. We wish there was simply more personnel to engage with patients and support them in this setting. For people who work in caregiving, this is a project that’s very close to their hearts but they don’t always have enough time to devote to it. Their work is very important, though it is often not adequately appreciated at the state and government level. We want to contribute in keeping dementia patients actively engaged with De BeleefTV as this is a critical issue in caregiving."

More and more people recognize the importance of engaging people with dementia and reducing their isolation even for a brief moment. That’s why De BeleefTV teamed up with the German actress Sophie Rosentreter and her film concept titled "Ilses weite Welt" (English: The Wide World of Ilse). True to the motto "Demenz mit Leichtigkeit begegnen" (English: Facing dementia with ease), the project initiator wants to create and share moments of joy and affection. "The series was specifically made for people with dementia. For example, one movie featured a day at the zoo – and was shot using a gentle, calm camera technique. The idea here is to make the viewer feel that it’s OK to pet a porcupine for example. De BeleefTV is a perfect media playback device for these types of films," says Kleemann. After all, the goal is to trigger memories of past events through images and use them to connect and communicate. This results in magic moments for everyone involved – patients, family members, and caregivers.