Reminiscence therapy is a proven tool to improve the quality of life of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It stimulates memories from the past to strengthen cognitive function, reduce depression and anxiety, and increase socialization.

Reminiscing is the bridge that connects people with their personal history and enhances their emotional wellbeing. However, it may entail costly and time-consuming measures such as dressing up an entire room as it may have existed decades ago, which makes it inaccessible to millions of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease strikes families, not just individuals, and addressing the needs of the patient’s family is essential to optimize the quality of life of patients and caregivers.

Our objective was clear: create an artificial intelligence-powered platform that can deliver interpersonal reminiscence therapy in a practical, scalable, and accessible way. We can create a social impact by making this therapy available to a wider community.

BAIgrapher is the first platform to use generative artificial intelligence to make reminiscence therapy accessible and practical for people with Alzheimer's disease. First, bAIgrapher collects stories from patients and their loved ones. Then, it creates personalized biographies that help patients reconnect with their past, a technique that can help strengthen memory and maintain cognitive functioning.

Developed months before the emergence of ChatGPT and GPT4, the AI behind bAIgrapher is different: trained in over 400 biographies, it’s uniquely equipped to write a compelling life story. Unlike other large language models, which rely on publicly available information, bAIgrapher generates content based on specific information provided by the user.

The resulting biography is delivered as print or audiobook, allowing patients to relive their memories in a way that is accessible and engaging. The platform provides a powerful tool for improving the quality of life and emotional well-being of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Every LLM can “talk” like a human, it’s their intrinsic capability. They do so by pulling information from the entire internet, and at first, such a limitless source of data seems like a strength.

However, push them too hard and they start to “hallucinate”, which is when the LLM begins to confuse facts, citing people that don’t exist or events that never took place. This is largely harmless and sometimes amusing unless you expose it to a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

bAIgrapher was built to never hallucinate. It’s more than just an LLM, it’s an amalgam of systems working in sequence. When put in motion, one system captures a finite, curated, and highly personalized set of data, then another produces a precise timeline, ordering names, events, and places. Only then will our fine-tuned LLM generates the text.

bAIgrapher acts as an orchestra playing for a specific audience with exacting precision.

The project contains a complex data-gathering component: the bAIgrapher digital platform for mobile and desktop. It’s where the patient, family, and friends go to provide input that will be used by the AI to generate content for the bAIgraphy, which is delivered as a physical book, e-book, or audiobook, narrated by the patient’s own synthesized voice.

Every element of the platform that the patient engages is designed to enhance cognitive function. The visual ecosystem applies scientifically studied cues for strengthening memory. From the typeface in the book to digital platform screen backgrounds and color palette, everything was carefully chosen to help stimulate the patient’s memory.

The logo stems from the project’s purpose: fusing human touch with AI, so together both can help connect and preserve patient memories.

According to a 2010 study, “hard-to-read” fonts such as serifed fonts are better for retaining information. We chose an elegant serifed font as the primary interface and branding typeface.

Studies indicate red and blue colors are ideal for enhancing cognitive skills. The color palette uses these as primary colors, and warm and cool shades as secondary.

Abstract art forces us to explore within ourselves, which can be rewarding. Each of the 300+ questionnaire screens has unique abstract background art, built with the help of AI.

Through photo uploads the printed book cover is created in the same style as most best-selling biographies, providing a familiar impression on patients, making them feel the book is as entertaining as it is therapeutic. Books are always limited edition. Only those selected by the patient, like family and close friends, will get a copy.

UFCSPA, the top medical university in Brazil, sees great potential in bAIgrapher as a tool that can help thousands, if not millions, of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and they intend to make it part of their treatment protocol. UFCSPA will also extend use of the tool to affiliated medical colleges, including Ivy League universities like Harvard and Brown.

The platform can revolutionize reminiscence therapy, making it truly scalable and accessible, which is not possible in its current format.

bAIgrapher’s technology is highly scalable while maintaining medicine’s four “Ps”: It is predictive, preventive, participatory, and personalized to different cultural and family contexts. bAIgrapher challenges what’s possible and accessible in terms of medical care and quality of life for patients and families.

bAIgrapher pushes the boundaries of AI, offering a more humane and responsible approach. Contrary to the perceived AI threat of replacing people, bAIgrapher highlights how irreplaceable we all are.