Camera fights memory loss

Pictures of the past can help keep memories alive

A small digital camera developed by scientists at Microsoft Research in Cambridge could help treat short-term memory loss.

The idea is the Sensecam allows people to recall events while they view the pictures captured by the camera. An entire day's events can be captured on a memory card and the images downloaded to a PC.

Software developed by Microsoft Research's Sensor and Devices group convert the pictures into a short movie that displays the images at up to 10 frames per second, allowing a day's events to be viewed in a few minutes.

In one trial, a woman with memory loss caused by an infection could recall 80 per cent of events six weeks after they happened.

Emma Berry, a neurophysiologist who works as a consultant to Microsoft, said: "Not only does Sensecam allow people to recall memories while they are looking at the images, which in itself is wonderful, but after an initial period of consolidation, it appears to lead to long-term retention of memories over many months, without the need to view the images repeatedly."

Originally developed as a memory aid for healthy people, it is now in clinical testing for those with memory impairment, such as dementia. It could even provide some hope for people in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

Sensecam is worn around the neck and automatically takes a wide-angle, low-resolution photograph every 30 seconds. It contains an accelerometer to stabilise the image and reduce blurriness, and it can be configured to take pictures in response to changes in movement, temperature, or lighting.

Steve Hodges, manager of the Sensor and Devices group at Microsoft Research UK said that the wide-angled lens means users don't have to point the camera at anything and it captures most of what the wearer can see.