Hacking dementia: Facebook invites tech nerds to combine brain power

Imagine if a person with dementia could tap a device on a television, microwave or laundry machine and instantly be reminded how to use it. Technologies like this emerged from last year’s DementiaHack, a “hackathon” that incubates hundreds of tech and medical professionals, along with the general public, to create tools for people living with dementia—a condition experienced by about 750,000 Canadians and 15 per cent of Canadians aged 65 and older.

The event, held this year at Toronto’s George Brown College on Nov. 7- 8, is organized by Facebook Canada and HackerNest, a not-for-profit aimed at using technology for economic development. This weekend, as early registrants began dividing into teams and pitching ideas, Maclean’s spoke with Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada, and Shaharris Beh, director of HackerNest.

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