A visual recording tool, the SenseCam, offers great promise as a memory aid for patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

SenseCam automatically snaps pictures every 30 seconds to create and archive image sequences. Its fish-eye lens creates images similar to the wearer’s natural perspective. It is also capable of recording short videos. About the size of a deck of cards, SenseCam weighs just 3.2 ounces and stores up to 30,000 pictures.

“The small size of the recall device makes it possible to integrate it into common portable consumer products, such as MP3 players, purses, clothing, hats, backpacks, necklaces, collars, and other human-wearable products,” developers wrote in the patent.

The images primarily trigger episodic recall, memory of events and experiences. This is the most common form of memory loss for Alzheimer's patients.

Lyndsay Williams invented SenseCam for Microsoft Cambridge in 1999. The device has since been used to monitor diet, anxiety triggers and disaster response volunteers. Gordon Bell, 75, one of Microsoft’s lead researchers, has been using the SenseCam to record every detail of his daily life every day for the last ten years. “I capture everything that I can that is of value,” he says. “I think of my e-memory and bio-memory as one.”

SenseCam features a 24-hour battery life, and according to Bell it’s also extremely durable. His first SenseCam lasted 4 years. That’s over 420,480 pictures! Because so much information is recorded, Bell stresses the importance of a good filing system.

“We have a collections mechanism that gives as a by-product a more general file system beyond (an organizational) tree,  ability to collect stuff together and name it, keywords, taxonomies,” he says. “My favorite organizing principle is facets.”

Apart from day-to-day activity, Bell says it’s come in handy when meeting new people at tradeshows and conferences. He’s come to depend on and respect the system a great deal, too. “All of your life’s images have a strong impact on being able to refresh your life,” he says.

SenseCam shows great potential, but further research is needed to determine its full effect on memory recall. In the meantime, you can read more about Bell's experience in his book, Total Recall, or follow MyLifeBits until the official release date is set.

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