Case Study
Automating dementia care while preserving human connection
Conversational Care integrates within the UK Dementia Research Institute's Minder project as Minder Chat, automating administrative workflows while maintaining the human connections essential to dementia care.
UK DRI's Minder Chat
The UK DRI's Minder platform creates dementia-friendly smart homes through digital technology and AI. As Minder scales from research to clinical service, care teams face mounting administrative demands while trying to maintain personalised care relationships. Minder Chat, Conversational Care's integration within Minder, addresses this challenge through intelligent automation, handling routine tasks so care teams can focus on what matters most: building trust and providing quality care.
User Research & Content Understanding
We conducted ethnographic shadowing and participatory workshops with people living with dementia, family carers, and clinical teams to understand how Minder could responsibly scale. Care teams revealed overwhelming time spent on routine conversations and data processing. Families expressed concerns about losing personalised care and facing longer wait times as services grow. Through this research, we identified which tasks genuinely require human connection and which could be automated, always prioritising the therapeutic relationships that make dementia care effective.
A short film exploring the perspective of people living with dementia who are participating in the Minder trial @ UK Dementia Research Institute UK DRI
Co-Design
Care teams and families shaped how Minder Chat's conversational AI would support Minder's scaling challenges. Together, we distinguished between automation-appropriate tasks (appointment scheduling, sensor alert validation, routine health education) and human-essential interactions (complex assessment, emotional support, clinical decisions). This collaborative process established clear guidelines: Minder Chat handles repetitive administrative work while care teams maintain oversight and personal relationships, ensuring technology enhances rather than replaces human care.
Field research (ethnographic shadowing of current workflows + participatory workshops with stakeholders) combined with systematic evidence synthesis (scoping review of AI capabilities) generates implementation guidelines and product requirements for responsible LLM integration in dementia care. Learnings feed into product design, which is then tested back in the field iteratively.
Development & Implementation
Minder Chat now connects Minder's sensor-equipped smart homes with its clinical dashboard. When sensors detect potential concerns, like changes in activity patterns or environmental risks, Minder Chat validates alerts through automated conversations before escalating to care teams. Care coordinators use the enhanced dashboard to manage validated alerts efficiently, schedule follow-ups, and maintain oversight of all automated interactions. Families receive 24/7 support for routine questions through WhatsApp, SMS, or voice, while knowing their care team remains directly involved in complex situations. The system also monitors speech patterns during conversations to detect cognitive changes over time.