At Paris’s Broca Hospital and La Septfontoise care home in Tarn-et-Garonne, French trials test robots and personalised AI for people with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions; uses under study include therapy and non-drug support for agitation.
At Broca Hospital, NAO uses questions and exercises to prompt conversation and cognitive stimulation, Paro responds to patients’ movements and sounds, and Miroki is designed to interact through conversation. At La Septfontoise, Livana works by phone, personalising conversations with residents’ interests and life stories; staff gathered that background with families’ consent. Researchers say patients’ reactions to robots range from amazement to rejection.
Researchers are investigating possible applications in cognitive stimulation, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychomotor rehabilitation. The La Septfontoise trial aims to explore non-drug approaches that could improve residents’ wellbeing and support care staff. Researchers say the technology should support care, not replace essential human relationships.
