TEAM 07

MEAP:
MEMORY EXERCISE OF
ALZHEIMER’S PATIENT

KAVYA BOHRA
ANGUS CHEN
AMIRSAMAN FAZELIPOUR
TRAVIS FRIDAY
DESMOND TRANG
GRACE ZHANG
Table of Contents
Revision History ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Project Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Project Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Project Planning .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Project Schedule ......................................................................................................................................... 8

Risk Management ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Project Organization and Staffing Plan ..................................................................................................... 11

References ................................................................................................................................................ 14

Appendix A............................................................................................................................................... 15
Revision History
Revision Status Publication/Revision Date By
1.0 Created September 21st, 2018 Kavya Bohra, Angus Chen
Amirsaman Fazelipour,
Travis Friday, Desmond
Trang, Grace Zhang
2.0 Revised (Project September 22nd, 2018 Amirsaman Fazelipour
Overview)
Revised (Project September 22nd, 2018 Travis Friday
Summary)
Revised (Project September 23rd, 2018 Kavya Bohra
Planning, Appendix
A)
Revised (Project September 23rd, 2018 Desmond Trang
Schedule)
Revised (Risk September 23rd, 2018 Grace Zhang, Angus Chen
Management)
Revised (Project September 25th, 2018 Desmond Trang
Organization and
Staffing Plan)
3.0 Final Revision September 26th, 2018 Amirsaman Fazelipour,
(Project Overview) Kavya Bohra

Final Revision September 26th, 2018 Kavya Bohra

(Project Summary)

Final Revision (Risk September 26th, 2018 Kavya Bohra

Management)

Final Revision September 26th, 2018 Travis Friday

(References)

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Project Summary
MEAP (Memory Exercise for Alzheimer’s Patients) - “Every problem is a new puzzle to
solve”. MEAP is an iOS game whose objective is cognitive stimulation through solving puzzles
that exercise the patient’s pattern completion and pattern separation capabilities of their
hippocampus. Sharpening the brain through these invigorating exercises has proven to slow the
progression of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) [1]. This app is unique as it is able to gauge the user’s
performance by taking their previous scores into account, and generating their next game likewise.
MEAP’s scoring system depends on the percentage of the puzzle completed by the user and the
amount of time taken to do so. MEAP is targeted for seniors who are in the early to middle stages
of the disease. It has a simple user interface design which makes it easy for anyone with AD to
enjoy and adapt to. The app is designed for the new 9.7 inch iPad Pro and can be downloaded free
of charge. The prototype of our app is slated to be completed on the first week of December 2018.

Project Overview
In this section, we are going to present our solution to one of the main issues that people
with Alzheimer’s disease, AD for short, face yet seem to get minimum support regarding. One of
the functions of the hippocampus is a process called pattern separation and “is critical for storing
individual representations of highly similar sensory inputs and preventing interfering
representations from overwriting previously stored information” [2]. Due to the degradation of the
hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer’s, they “consistently demonstrate very poor pattern
separation” [2]. Moreover, another vital function of the hippocampus is pattern completion. This
process “recovers a complete, stored representation based on a partial, degraded, or noisy retrieval
cue” [2]. According to [2], patients with AD also “showed lower pattern completion rates”, which
is not surprising given the disintegration of parts of the hippocampus. By designing an iOS app
that provides a mechanism through which we can stimulate the hippocampal functions that are
responsible for pattern separation and pattern completion, we attempt to be pioneers in directly
exercising these processes.
“In humans, increased engagement in late-life cognitive activity has been associated with
slower cognitive decline” [1]. However, in the past little attention had been paid to the relationship
between mentally stimulating activities and the progression of Alzheimer’s. Nonetheless, in a
recent study published by [1], where it was shown that “increased engagement in cognitively
stimulating activities was associated with a slower rate of decline”, after a person has already been
diagnosed with AD. This finding is extremely significant and forms a basis for our idea. Another
finding based on 718 participants and 15 trials also suggests that “cognitive stimulation” has a
positive effect on the memory and thinking of individuals diagnosed with dementia [3]. Cognitive
stimulation is an umbrella term which encompasses a wide range of activities from word games to
puzzles to listening to music. We attempt to involve the patients in solving puzzles. These puzzles
will be unlike any existing puzzles with a definite aim: to exercise and stimulate pattern completion
and pattern separation abilities. In other words, rather than giving the patients a general mental
activity or puzzle, we plan on exercising exactly what is deficient in these individuals - their
hippocampal ability to pattern separate and pattern complete. In short, MEAP, which stands for

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Memory Exercise for Alzheimer Patients, is going to consist of many different memory
recollection tasks involving pattern separation and completion.
Firstly, the pattern separation puzzles will be based on a variation of a prevalent experiment
discussed in detail in previous studies of pattern separation [4], [5]. The main idea is to display
several different photos of objects to the participants and later show a new set of photos containing
some from the old set, some similar to the old set and some completely new objects. The participant
must make a guess for each photo by selecting either “new”, “old”, or “similar”. (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Experiment for determining ability to pattern separate [1]

We have modified this test such that rather than displaying photos, the app will display
certain patterns on a board like a chess board. The idea, however, will essentially be the same.
There is no doubt that AD patients demonstrate lower pattern separation than healthy adults (see
figure 2). In addition, being involved with more cognitive stimulating activities has been shown to
slow down the rate of progression of AD, as evident in figure 3. In Figure 3 we can see that Mini-
Mental State Examination (MMSE) has a lower rate of decline amongst AD patients with a higher
number of cognitive stimulating activities. By exercising pattern separation in patients with AD,
MEAP aims to slow down the progression of AD and consequently the decline in pattern
separation. As “The consequences of faulty pattern separation could be devastating, especially for
patients with AD, leading to confusion over falsely taking a certain medication, or perhaps leading
to confusion over landmarks or the identity of relatives” [2]

Figure 2: Lower Pattern separation scores BPS of AD patients[1]

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 Figure 3: Rate of decline vs. time of AD patients with fewer stimulating activities [2]
Secondly, the pattern completion puzzles will be uniquely designed to fulfill the main
concept behind pattern completion. As described above, pattern completion is the ability to retrieve
a complete and stored pattern from a partial or noisy indication. We will first use the board to
display a generated pattern to the user, after some amount of time, hide the pattern and display
only a partial one taken from the original pattern. The user’s task is to complete the pattern from
its given fragments. At the end of each round, the app will come up with a score which has been
calculated based on two factors: the time it took to finish and the percentage of the pattern which
was completed. It is important to note that this score does not in any shape or form reflect the
user’s medical condition. It is only an intuitive way for users to get feedback and track progress
relative to their previous games.
The people who are affected by the release MEAP include but are not limited to the
following: the six people on our team, Alzheimer Society of BC, individuals who are diagnosed
and in the early stages of AD and their families, and Fall of 2018 ENSC-275 professor Dr. Herbert
H. Tsang. It should be noted that our app is intended to be used by individuals who have already
been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and are in its early stages. Moreover, MEAP is not to be confused
with a medical diagnosis tool. It is merely an alternative tool to help slow down the rate of
progression of the disease and as a consequence the decline of pattern separation. As suggested in
[1], mentally stimulating activities is beneficial to the progression of AD. A few major assumptions
our team is making regarding the end users of the app are as follows. The end users are required
to own an apple iPad and whom can actually interact with the device at a beginner level. Beginner
level users of an iPad device are ones who are able to successfully install and open an application
and have experience with at least one other iOS application which involves touching the screen to
control the interface.

The following are the proposed features which will be included in the game.
• A welcome page to greet users
• Special buttons on the UI including:
o Display history graph
o Mute
o Tutorial button
o A tile count displaying how many boxes are in the pattern for each pattern
• Landscape and portrait support using the accelerometer
• An algorithm to calculate the percentage of the patterns completed for pattern completion
puzzles
• An algorithm to count the number of correct guesses in the pattern separation puzzles

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 • Timers
o A timer to measure the time it takes the user to complete the pattern completion
puzzles
o A timer that provides a set amount of lag time between each pattern displayed in
the pattern separation puzzles
▪ The lags will be based on the suggested amounts in the [2].
• Subtle sounds to accompany each time a square is clicked by the user or a button is pressed
• First time features (first time the app is opened)
o Automatic tutorial
o A few random patterns to make initial estimate regarding the users’ level and
generate a first game based on that estimate
• A skip button for each pattern
• A “done” button for when the user is finished with a level
• Network connectivity using Wi-Fi (no cellular support since app is designed for iPad)
o To save user history on MEAP’s database and retrieve when needed
• Fine tuning (described in more detail below)
Most of the focus of this app, however, will be concentrated in continuously monitoring the users’
scores and history to fine tune future games to match their abilities as closely as possible. This is
unlike other available games where the user must either progress through the game in a linear
fashion (pass each level to reach a more difficult puzzle) or select the level they wish to play in
advance. In MEAP, we wish to automate this process to be able to calculate scores precisely and
accurately as well as simplify the overall design by removing the users’ control over the difficulty
of each game.
The overall design and architecture will now be discussed at a very high level. The interface
consists of minimal settings and options as to minimize the distractions for the users, given the
majority will be seniors. Simplicity is one of our top goals when it comes to the overall design.
The UI will consist of a proposed 10 x 10 (subject to change upon implementation) board. The
game includes two main sets of puzzles, namely pattern separation and pattern completion. As
discussed in paragraph two of the Project Overview section, a score will be generated after each
game has ended. Each day, the score will be averaged over all the games played on that day, and
progress will appear on a graph like the layout in Apple’s Health App in (Figure 4). As already
mentioned above, the graph does not reflect Alzheimer progression in users. It is only a means of
tracking acquired scores and displaying history in a natural and user friendly manner.

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 Figure 4: Apple Health App graph displaying daily activity [6]

Project Planning
Team meetings will take place every week:
• Monday 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm, and 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
• Friday 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

If additional meetings are required, they will be scheduled by the PM based on everyone’s
availability. The team will follow an Agile method of development. Each team meeting will start
with a 15-minute stand-up meeting. This is where the PM outlines the agenda of the meeting, and
each participant takes the time to update the group members about the progress they have made
since the last meeting. The PM and Solutions Architect will work together to plan breakdown of
large tasks into smaller ones and engage in an incremental and iterative workflow commonly
known as sprints. The agenda discussed will be transcribed into the “Meeting Minutes” by the PM.
Any member who is unable to attend the team meetings is required to add their thoughts to the
“Meeting Minutes” recorded by the PM. A comprehensive schedule and the “Meeting Minutes”
for each of our team meetings can be found under the “Meetings and Calendar” tab on the team
website: https://cmpt275team07.weebly.com/.

We will use Facebook Messenger as our primary online chat platform and Discord to hold
remote voice call meetings. Our main source of meeting will still be face to face because it allows
us to communicate efficiently and effectively. If we have any problems, we will try to set up a
Skype or email with Herbert.

To test our application and to make sure that the game design satisfies customer needs, we
will be visiting Alzheimer’s Society of BC’s office in Lynn Valley (1200 Lynn Valley Rd, North
Vancouver, BC V7J 2A2). These visits will be made every 3 weeks as we update and add new
features to the app. The visits will be a week before our Version 1 + Presentation, Version 2 and
Version 3 deadlines so that if any changes were necessary, they could be implemented and tested
before the deadlines. The schedule for this is also indicated under the “Meetings and Calendar”
tab on the team website

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 We will also follow the change management cycle of: developers’ complete development,
QA tests the completed product, QA identifies the shortcomings/fixes, developers fix changes, QA
tests the new changes made, and PM issues the new release. The PM oversees planning and
scheduling this testing process. The PM, the QA team and all the developers will be a part of this
process.

Our team consists of:

• 1 Project Manager: Kavya Bohra
• 1 Solutions Architect: Angus Chen
• 2 UI/UX Developers: Desmond Trang and Travis Friday
• 1 Quality Assurance: Desmond Trang
• and 3 Software Developers: Amirsaman Fazelipour (Software Validation/Verification),
Travis Friday and Grace Zhang

Each team member will contribute an average of 11 hours/week on this project. The
breakdown/justification of the budget is as follows:
• Maximum budget is $15,000 for 12 weeks = $1250/week.
• We will total to 65 hours/week, thus salary for each group member will be $1250/65 hours
= 19$/hour.

Group Member Role Hours/Week Salary/Week

Kavya Bohra Project Manager 10 $190

Angus Chen Solutions Architect 10 $190

Amirsaman Fazelipour Software Developer 12 $228

Travis Friday UI/UX Developer 5 $95

Software Developer 6 $114

Desmond Trang UI/UX Developer 5 $95

Quality Assurance 5 $95

Grace Zhang Software Developer 12 $228

Table 1: Depicts roles and weekly salaries of each team member

• This totals our budget to $14,820 for the 12 weeks of this project, putting us under budget
by 180$, which can be set aside as a contingency budget to cover unexpected costs during
the development process.

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Project Schedule
The project comes with five homework sections, highlighted by blue rows, that come with
multiple deliverables (tasks) for each section. Some of the longer tasks that have dependency upon
one another are broken down into subtasks and are assigned to the team members according to
their position.

Table 2.A Gantt Chart of HW1 and HW2

Table 2.B Gantt Chart of HW3, HW4, and HW5

Table 2.C Legend for Gantt Chart

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Risk Management
Likelihood Potential
Risks of Impact on Impact area Mitigation Strategy
Occurrence Project
(What scale
do you use)
People Risks
Team members are Almost Minor Members who miss Posting detailed meeting
absent from certain the meetings may notes on google doc for
meetings be missing key reference, missing
information causing attendees required to give
delays their thoughts on agenda
discussed
Team members turn Rare Significant Application may be Better communication to
over incomplete or have every team member
delayed due to lack understand most
of manpower, disciplines of the project,
maybe missing continuous learning
specific through online resources
skills/functions on and tutorials
the final product
Organizational Risks
Campus closed due Likely Moderate In-person meetings Setup Discord channel for
to severe weather become too difficult remote communication
Tool Risks
iOS development Almost Severe Development is Explore study materials,
learning curve is certain hindered or brought watch online tutorials
very steep because to a halt, tasks take (YouTube), Swift courses
the lack of longer to complete on CodeAcademy
experience (coding than anticipated
with Xcode and
Swift)
Disorganized Possible Significant Delay in progress as Back up current progress
version control team member might on a timely base and use
be working on older version control through
version Git
Merge conflicts and Likely Major Replacement/ Clear communication
synchronization deletion of useful between team members to
problems code identify what piece of
code is being revised at
what time
Technology Risks
Inaccurate Possible Significant Application does Perform more tests and
algorithm not do what is validations with every step
intended, unplanned of development, rigorous
glitches and results testing of algorithm and
developing multiple test
cases

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 Not being able to Possible Moderate Application is Game scenarios can be
come up with a blocked from hardcoded, game can be
NxN algorithm for continued designed for a specific n,
pattern generation development n = 10
for the game board
Estimation Risks
Not enough time to Possible Severe Project is not Do not procrastinate, plan
finish the project completed ahead and leave time for
modifications and testing.
Follow deadlines set by
the Gantt chart.
Unfulfilled Possible Moderate Manpower is not Keep work organized and
requirements used efficiently on schedule.
blocking further causing delays Anticipate upcoming
development deadlines and plan work
likely
Requirements risks
App feature is not Unlikely Significant Application lacks a Understand Alzheimer’s
helping purpose, does not disease as much as
Alzheimer’s disease satisfy customer’s possible before detailed
patients needs implementation through
reading research and
reading journals, be in
contact with Alzheimer’s
Society of BC and accept
feedback in order to make
the app as helpful as
possible

(Scale used: likelihood - rare, unlikely, possible, likely, almost certain)

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Project Organization and Staffing Plan
Kavya Bohra
kbohra@sfu.ca
Project Manager

As the Project Manager for this team, some responsibilities

include: being the main point of contact for the team, organizing
both sit-down and stand-up meetings, deciding the agenda and
recording the meeting minutes, sectioning bigger tasks into
smaller tasks (Agile method) and delegating them appropriately to the other members, helping in
game design to make sure it satisfies the customer’s needs (Alzheimer Society of BC), and doing
a final review of all required documents. I have extensive knowledge in programming in C,
application of data structures, and Linux development. I have completed an 8-month co-op as an
Agile Software Developer and Business Systems Analyst at Telus. As a part of that role, I assisted
in development of two multi-tenancy MVC web applications (portals) using Java and Spring MVC
(Model-View-Controller) for the Portal and Identity Team. I was also responsible for the portal’s
UX concepts like UI templating using FreeMarker and creating responsive UI for the web
application, thus gained extensive experience with HTML/CSS/CSS3/JavaScript/jQuery. In
addition, I undertook the role of a BSA for customer on boarding onto a newer platform, document
migration, and performing requirement analysis for this process.

Angus Chen
adchen@sfu.ca
Solution Architect (Project engineer)

I am the Software Developer and the Solution Architect (Project

Engineer) and my main task is to gather requirements for the application
and create technical solutions and deliverables according to the
requirements. I have in-depth knowledge of software and hardware
systems. I completed two eight-month co-op terms; one as a Quality
Assurance Analyst at PNI Digital Media and one as a Software Developer
at the same company. For the entirety of the sixteen months of co-op, I was working in a fast-
paced team environment utilizing Agile-Scrum software development methodologies. As the QA
I ensured that Costco, Tesco and Staples print mobile IOS applications are of the highest quality
by creating and executing thorough test plans and creating detailed bug reports such that the
developers knows the issues precisely. As a software developer, I developed back-end components
of two separate RESTful APIs and a CQRS design pattern based API that runs all internal tools
and all front-end programs such as staples and Costco print websites and phone applications. I am
familiar with C, C++, C#, SQL, JavaScript and Arm Assembly and have used tools such as Visual
Studios, Git and Jira

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Amirsaman Fazelipour
afazelip@sfu.ca
Software Validation/Verification, Game Theory & Design

My role in this team is the Software Validation/Verification and Game

Theory & Design. I will be mainly involved in creating the algorithm and
design for the game and ensuring that it works without any bugs. I am a
student finishing my 3rd year in Computer Engineering. I have completed
8 months of co-op as a Software Test Engineer at Sierra Wireless. In doing
so, I have become quite comfortable with the procedures involved in testing and debugging large
software such as writing automation scripts in Python, Bash, etc. as well as version control systems
such as GitHub. Moreover, during my co-op, I became familiar with the Agile method and having
daily meetings during which we discuss what we are working on and what issues we are currently
facing. Moreover, I have a deep understanding of software development in C, data structures, and
algorithms. I am also a competent Linux user.

Travis Friday
tfriday@sfu.ca
UI/UX Design, Software Developer

I am the UI/UX Designer and the Software Developer. Some of my

responsibilities involve creating the game algorithm, while keeping in
touch with the QA to make sure bugs are fixed, and creating the wireframes
and layout of the application. I am an expert on software development and
numerical analysis. I am intermediate in Web-development and graphics
design. I possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to rapidly learn new
technologies, and I have completed side projects and online courses to prove this. I have a keen
interest in hiking, snowboarding, swimming and reading books. In the future, I would like to build
a tech company in my home country of Grenada that would help modernize medicine in the
country. My interest also lies in traveling around the world and learning about new cultures. I am
involved with 2 clubs in SFU where I engage with many of the students and helps with providing
a social experience on campus.

Desmond Trang
dtrang@sfu.ca
UI/UX Designer, Quality Assurance

Being the UI/UX Designer as well as the Quality Assurance Engineer,

I am involved: with keeping in touch with the software developers to make
or change test cases as the project progresses, running through a full cycle
of testing after every update of the app, creating the look and flow of the
app, and creating the app icon. I have worked as a Quality Assurance Co-
op student at Intel and some of my responsibilities included the following: creating automated
testing scripts in python, conducting manual and automated regression, smoke, and sanity testing,
as well as maintaining the “device farm” by actively keeping track of lab equipment and setting

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up more equipment when necessary. Through my co-op experience, I learned how to navigate
through and use the Linux environment, test using Robot Framework and interpret the results into
meaningful data, coding in Python using PyCharm, and working with bug tracking software, such
as JIRA and HP-ALM, to communicate effectively with other team members about any
developmental problems. I have also worked with C++ and C, doing school projects and
assignments, along with HTML and CSS.

Grace Zhang
bqzhang@sfu.ca
Software Developer

I am one of the Software Developers in the team and I was responsible

for creating the project website. Also, I will be working together with the
other Software Developers to create the game algorithm. Through my
undergraduate study, I have years programming experience in C and C++
that includes extensive knowledge in design, data structure and testing. I
have completed 8 months co-op as Firmware Designer in Sierra Wireless. My role as Firmware
Designer includes implementing new features for a series of LTE Gateway Operating System, and
fixing bugs reported by customer or the testing department. From my co-op, I became very comfort
with Linux environment development, and learnt the process for building software in the industry.
I also learnt version controls with Git, and testing script in Python.

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References

[1] Treiber, K. A., Carlson, M. C., Corcoran, Chris, et al., “Cognitive Stimulation and
Cognitive and Functional Decline in Alzheimer's Disease: The Cache County Dementia
Progression Study | The Journals of Gerontology: Series B | Oxford Academic,” OUP
Academic, 25-Mar-2011. [Online]. Available:
https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/66B/4/416/587134.
[Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].
[2] Brandon A. Ally, E. P. Hussey, P. C. Ko, and R. J. Molitor, “Pattern Separation and Pattern
Completion in Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence of Rapid Forgetting in Amnestic Mild
Cognitive Impairment”, Dec-2013. [Online]. Available:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310474/. [Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].
[3] B. Woods, E. Aguirre, A. E. Spector, and M. Orrell, “Cognitive stimulation to improve
cognitive functioning in people with dementia,” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,
15-Feb-2012. [Online]. Available:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005562.pub2/abstract.
[Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].
[4] J. Kim and M. A. Yassa, “Assessing Recollection and Familiarity of Similar Lures in a
Behavioral Pattern Separation Task”, Apr-2013. [Online]. Available:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172605/. [Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].
[5] C. B. Kirwan and C. E. L. Stark, “Overcoming interference: An fMRI investigation of
pattern separation in the medial temporal lobe”, Sep-2007. [Online]. Available:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994079/. [Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].
[6] Apple, “Health”. Cupertino: Apple, 2014. [Online]. Available:
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/155475/is-the-health-app-graph-logarithmic.
[Accessed: 26-Sep-2018].

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Appendix A
• Team Meetings: Agenda and Minutes

Team Meeting #1
Group # and Name: 7 [NAME]
Purpose of Meeting: Initial Discussion and Introduction
Date/Time: Monday, September 17th 2018, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm (1.5 hours)
Location: ASB
Note Taker: Kavya Bohra
Attendee: Kavya Bohra, Angus Chen, Amirsaman Fazelipour, Travis Friday, Desmond Trang,
Grace Zhang
Absent: N/A
Reading Material: HW1 Document
Topics Discussed: This was the first face-to-face group meeting. We came up with the following
ideas for our app (topics for all 3 diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Autism) were explored):
• It can be like the “snake game”, where the patient would be shown a path for a couple of
seconds, and then they would have to recreate that path from memory. Gauge the
patient’s performance on how much of the path they can clear. A timer will be optional.
o The interface may be like a “Google Street View”, as Alzheimer’s patients
struggle with sense of direction.
o The interface may have a chessboard look with 7x7, 8x8, 9x9 block patterns.
Difficulty is based on how many turns the path has, and how big the board is.
• The app has a Skype like feature, this connects the patient/ patient’s family with a
psychological assessor for them to ask questions and seek guidance from. If they detect
that the Alzheimer’s is getting worse, an in-person checkup is suggested.
• The app can counter the Parkinson’s patient quivers/ shakes in order to stabilize display
by using the iPhone’s compass/ gyroscope feature.
• The app provides a checklist for an Alzheimer’s patient, the app is linked to one of their
live-in family member/ nurse who helps them create this list in the morning. App sends
periodic notifications/ reminders for the tasks. For example: reminders for taking
medications.
• App should also have a feature that sends/ displays positive encouragement for the
patient.
• The app can be a collection of family events that have happened in the past with photos/
videos as a reminder that the patient can periodically browse through.
• App can be a hazard checklist for the house, things that they need to do around the house
everyday (daily chores) and things they should do before they leave the house to go
anywhere.
Additional features/ ideas discussed about the functionality of the app:
• Easy to use user interface, not too many menu items, no small text, not too many tabs,
flashy/ complex patterns/ designs.
Also discussed which Apple device we should use for the app (Apple watch integration?). Took
time at the end of the meeting to research the theme and choose a demographic for the app.

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Scheduled another meeting later in the day to finalize app idea and (verbally) pitch to Herbert
during the class (Monday, 17/09/2018).

Team Meeting #2
Group # and Name: 7 [NAME]
Purpose of Meeting: What should our App do? Pick final idea.
Date/Time: Monday, September 17th 2018, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm (1 hour)
Location: Study space outside chemistry building
Note Taker: Kavya Bohra
Attendee: Kavya Bohra, Angus Chen, Amirsaman Fazelipour, Travis Friday, Desmond Trang,
Grace Zhang
Absent: N/A
Reading Material: N/A
Topics Discussed: Decided that we should go with the snake game idea (mentioned in Meeting
Minutes for Team Meeting #1). Decided that the app would be for an older Alzheimer’s patient.
Team took out some more time to research about how this app would benefit an Alzheimer’s
patient. Further aspects of the app discussed:
• Easy UI.
• Can we use Siri as an AI element in our app?
• Multiplayer aspect can have players play against their family members.
o Security aspects of the app if considering a multiplayer/ chat room function.
Risks?
• Could add Blockchain ideas in order to incentivize the app, or some “collect coins by
finishing challenges” aspect.
• How should we track progress in the app. If the progress is downhill, should the patient
be able to see that or should that only be visible to the family members?
To do:
• Everyone should finish the bios and pick their roles for the project website.
• Choose a group + app name.
• Add personal schedule/ absences to the project calendar.
Feedback from Herbert: Need to find (medical) research to support our claims about the progress
of the patient.

Team Meeting #3
Group # and Name: 7 [name]
Purpose of Meeting: Discuss scope of the project, start project plan + website
Date/Time: Friday, September 21st 2018, 2:00pm-
Location: ASB
Note Taker: Kavya Bohra
Attendee: Kavya Bohra, Angus Chen, Amirsaman Fazelipour, Travis Friday, Grace Zhang
Absent: Desmond Trang (could not attend due to work, contributed ideas mentioned at the end
of the post)
Reading Material: Research to support the claims our app makes
Topics Discussed:

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 • Discussed the various articles that the group members found on research that can support
our app features.
• Should the path designs be hard coded? Instead of coming up with an algorithm to
randomly generate the patterns (this has a lot of complexities). Part of our scope to
implement an algorithm, smaller space complexity, this can be implemented in the future.
• Use the accelerometer to change the orientation of the app (portrait to landscape).
• Focusing on one game and developing it thoroughly, should have a uniform interface
instead of having too many pop-ups.
• App should focus on pattern completion and pattern separation as talked about in the
article found by Amir (link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310474/).
• App name should make it clear that it is for an Alzheimer’s patient like Memory Exercise
of Alzheimer’s Patients (MEAP).
• App would be on the iPad, question for Herbert: do we have to implement cellular
network connectivity on the iPad version (because most iPads do not come with cellular
network)?
• Original idea + mini cog game: should be averaging the scores for the games.
• Changing the focus of the app from being a diagnosis tool for the patient to just being an
exercise tool: “How well you’re doing in the context of the game”.
• Send them a weekly progress email.
• How do we gauge the difficulty of the pattern shown, how should we implement the
timer?
To do:
•Come up with the final idea:
•Come up with App name and slogan: “An app that you will remember”?
•Discuss and delegate work for Project Plan:
o Project Summary:
o Project Overview:
o Project Planning:
o Project Schedule:
o Project Organization:
Desmond’s Ideas:
• Made GitHub public instead of private so:
o Herbert will be able to see it without being a collaborator
o Don’t really have a reason to make it private
• Found research article that states “SG can successfully be employed to train physical and
cognitive abilities in elderly people”
o Serious games: digital applications specialized for purposes other than
entertaining, such as training and educating, informing, communicating,
marketing, leading societal/ideological impact on specific subjects, or enhancing
user's aptitudes or cognitive/physical functions
o However, no strong evidence on the effectiveness
o This website gives a few good recommendations on how we should outline our
app to help with dementia
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00054/full

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