When Emma Yang was 8, her grandmother became increasingly forgetful. Over the next few years, those memory problems caused by early Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默病) worsened. Yang, who learned to code at an early age, decided to create an app to help.
“I have personal experience with how the disease can affect not only the patient, but also family and friends. When I was about 11 or 12, I got really interested in using technology for social good to help other people around the world,” says Yang, who is now 14. In her app under development, called Timeless, Alzheimer’s patients can scroll through (上下滚动) photos of friends and family, and the app will tell them who the people are and how they’re related to the patient. If a patient doesn’t recognize people in the same room, they can take a picture and the technology will also try to recognize them.
The app also includes a simple contacts screen that shows photos of family members along with names. If a patient tries to call a contact repeatedly — something that can sometimes happen because of the disease — the app will show a quick reminder: “Are you sure you want to call? You just called less than five minutes ago.” A “me” page shows the patient’s own name, age, phone number, and address. The app is still in development, and Yang doesn’t yet have evidence that it will work. But she is optimistic that it can help, especially if introduced to someone in the early stages of the disease.
Katherine Possin, an associate professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, agrees, “It can be hard for somebody who has a lot of memory problems to learn a new technology.” Possin says. “But if somebody is in the early stages of the disease, and if the app is simple enough, it’s possible that they can learn to use it through repetition and practice.”
8. Why did Emma Yang come up with the idea of creating the app?
A.Because she decided to develop some codes. |
B.Because she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. |
C.Because she was inspired by her grandma’s case. |
D.Because she wished to use technology to help people. |
9. According to Emma Yang, what can the app do?
A.Scroll through photos. |
B.Make a phone call. |
C.Contact family members. |
D.Remind personal information. |
10. What do we know about the app?
A.It works well. | B.It is convenient. |
C.It is under research. | D.It has good memory. |
11. What’s Katherine Possin’s attitude to the app?
A.Favorable. | B.Doubtful. | C.Critical. | D.Concerned. |