From innovation to adoption: process-oriented holistic modelling for sensory-based assistive technologies in dementia care

Objective

To evaluate the design, implementation, and early impact of the Tasty Spoon™ – a hybrid digital–analogue, electrostimulation device intended to restore taste perception in people with dementia – and to identify the organisational and market conditions required for its routine use.

Methods

A ProcessOrientedHolistic (PrOH) Modelling Methodology was applied across four phases:

1. Userneeds assessment through three focus groups (n = 28), semistructured interviews with individuals living with dementia (n = 10), caregivers (n = 5) and healthcare professionals (n = 15).

2. Iterative codesign and lab prototyping, informed by thematic analysis and smallscale electrogustometry studies (n = 15; people with dementia = 10, control = 5).

3. Feasibility testing the prototype in care-home dining routines to explore practicality, user acceptance, and caregiver workload, documented through field notes, post use interviews and caregiver workload diaries.

4. Regulatory and commercial pathway mapping (UKCA/CE precompliance review, 3i stakeholder analysis). Quantitative data were analysed descriptively; qualitative insights were integrated into the PrOH workflow to expose implementation pinchpoints.

Results

PrOH analysis identified three design features that underpinned acceptability – familiar spoon form, automatic activation on contact, and dishwashersafe construction – while highlighting outstanding challenges in cost control, training, and individual differences in taste sensitivity. Participants consistently reported that the Tasty Spoon™ made food ‘taste stronger’ and restored variety to meals they had previously found bland. Our research also highlighted the importance of co-developing ethical procedures in collaboration with people with dementia.

Conclusion

Early, smallscale evidence suggests that a sensoryfocused assistive device can complement existing cognitive and mobility technologies in dementia care by enhancing mealtime enjoyment and easing caregiver burden. Larger, rigorously controlled studies are needed to quantify nutritional and clinical outcomes and to refine personalised stimulation settings before widescale deployment.