Dementia is today one of the leading causes of disability and dependency in older people around the world; its prevalence is increasing rapidly, and it has no cure. Before its onset, there is a phase of transition called Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which seems a promising period to test treatments to delay dementia.
Cognitive training is a therapy currently tested worldwide in people with MCI as prevention and treatment tool. Mate Marote is an Argentine open source software specifically designed to train executive functions. While it was tested in 5-to-8 year olds with excellent results, Mate Marote games were never tested in older adults.
In this work we present the first feasibility study, including 11 volunteers between 66 and 84 years old, without dementia. We evaluated the usability of the platform and the performance of the subjects in the adapted games.
To implement a randomized clinical trial with this software, some elements must be modified. Still, from this pilot study we conclude that Mate Marote is well adapted for older adults without dementia, and that both frequency and duration of the sessions are suitable for this group of people.