UT driving simulator to help Alzheimer's patients

UT driving simulator to help Alzheimer's patients

By JILL MCNEAL
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - How long can a loved one with Alzheimer's disease keep driving safely? That's the difficult question a doctor at UT Medical Center is studying, with a ground-breaking new approach and the technology to go with it.

The million dollar driving simulator is almost an exact replica of the front half of a car. Five projection screens show you what's going on outside the windows, while small video monitors provide the view from the side and rear view mirrors.

"The car actually moves just by a few degrees which very much gives you the feeling that the car is braking and speeding up and making turns," explains Dr. John Dougherty, director of the Cole Neuroscience Center at UT Medical Center.

He has been studying the effects of Alzheimer's disease for the last 15 years.

"My mother died of Alzheimer's disease and my grandmother had Alzheimer's disease, too," Dr. Dougherty says.

The hospital follows 2,000 Alzheimer's patients in the area with the help of the new driver testing technology at the university and a research scholarship from the local Lederer family.

"Some people with severe memory problems have a difficult time remembering how to get home. They get lost in the car," Dr. Dougherty says. "But also other things happen in Alzheimer's disease. That is, one's attention can be affected. You might see a dog or a child run across the street and may not be able to react as quickly."

The goal of Dr. Dougherty's 18 month study of local patients is to develop a written test that doctors anywhere can use to help seniors and their families make the right decisions for each person. 

"What we want to do is develop a protocol so that we use the driver simulator here in order to make judgements about whether people can drive, good or bad, and what we can do about their situation to improve their situation so they can drive more safely," he says.

Dr. Dougherty hopes to start testing his patients in the simulator within the next couple of months.

Lenoir City is hosting the Forget Me Not 5K for Alzheimer's on Saturday April 17. All proceeds will go toward Dr. Dougherty's research at UT.

The Alzheimer's Association is holding a Memory Walk in Knoxville the same day.