Virtual reality device helps home designers understand effects of dementia – Scottish Daily Record

A new virtual reality device aims to help architects and designers create buildings and spaces which are better suited to meet the needs of people with dementia.

The Virtual Reality Empathy Platform (VR-EP) works by understanding how dementia can affect a persons vision.

The invention is a market first for architectural design. It can be used in the design of new buildings such as care homes, hospitals or sheltered housing, and also has the potential to assess existing buildings and environments.

There are currently more than 800,000 people in the UK living with dementia, a figure that is expected to rise to 1.7 million by 2051. Some estimates suggest that dementia costs the UK economy 26.3bn per year.

The VR-EP aims to help healthcare providers save expensive adaptive costs by designing buildings and spaces with the person living with dementia in mind.

People living with dementia can see things very differently, with objects often appearing dimmer and less colourful.

The new device helps designers to see things through the eyes of a fictional person living with dementia, and to create homely and familiar environments that could reduce accidents, lessen anxiety and help those living with dementia live more independent lives.

The idea is the brainchild of David Burgher, director at Scottish Borders-based Aitken Turnbull Architects, who has developed the product in partnership with Glasgow CGI company Wireframe Immersive and experts at the Dementia Centre, HammondCare.

The Dementia Centre is recognised as a world leader in dementia support, care and design. Wireframe Immersive has developed the virtual environment and will supply the software and hardware.

David Burgher said: At Aitken Turnbull we have many years of experience in designing buildings for the elderly and for people living with dementia and have gained valuable insight into the condition.

''The introduction of this unique VR-EP technology takes this insight to the another level - giving building designers first-hand experience of how dementia affects vision so that we can design spaces that are far better suited to people living with the condition.''

VR-EP comprises a laptop with high performance graphic and memory capability, Virtual Reality goggles, a games controller, camera and bespoke software programming.

Professor Mary Marshall, senior consultant at the HammondCare Dementia Centres UK team said: One of the biggest challenges for researchers, trainers and consultants in dementia design is how you convey the experience of the environment for people living with dementia.

''This device has the potential to be immensely beneficial for researchers, commissioners, architects and interior designers, and many other professionals in this field, and the Dementia Centre, HammondCare are delighted to be part of it.

The VR-EP device was developed with 50,000 of funding from Scottish Enterprise and is projected to generate ten times that amount of sales by year three of trading.

Aitken Turnbull Architects and Wireframe Immersive are currently carrying out a scoping exercise with interest from Scottish Development International (SDI) to export this virtual reality device to Europe, China and the US.

David McHoul, Innovation Specialist at Scottish Enterprise said: This project is another great example of Scotlands strengths in innovation.''

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Virtual reality device helps home designers understand effects of dementia - Scottish Daily Record