The CIRCA team was founded by a multi-disciplinary group of academics and researchers from the universities of Dundee and St Andrews who came together overten years ago to explore ways in which computer-based technologies could help support people living with dementia.
CIRCA is an easy-to-use computer programme that helps support conversation between people with dementia, and their caregivers and relatives. The system contains an extensive collection of archive photographs, video clips and popular music which is easily accessed by simply touching the screen.People with dementia, and their relatives and caregivers, can use the touchscreen to interact with and explore an extensive media database collected from some of the UK's oldest and most prestigious archives. This revolutionary system is the result of 10 years of research, with field studies conducted in care institutions throughout the UK and results reported in academic publications all over the world.
The CIRCA team bring together expertise in the fields of design, psychology and computer science. Among other inventions, they are responsible for the development of CIRCA, the first dedicated computer-based system to support reminiscence and conversation, and the LIM Games, a series of computer games specifically designed for and with people who have dementia.