How Mario helps patients remember

MARIO could help jog a dementia patient’s memory by going through their family photos with them.

Rather than simply displaying a slideshow of images, the robot can be programmed to interact with their human companions, with each photo stored in its database accompanied by background information to prompt discussion

Andy Bleaden, the council official overseeing the trial in Manchester, said: ‘Someone will be able to look at photos from Christmas ten years ago.

‘Then Mario would say, “Can you remember where this is? Can you remember who this is?” and listen to the response.

‘Part of the work we’d have to do is populate the photos with data of where and when they were taken and who is in them.

‘People can then use the software to keep their remembrance skills going.’