The problem you are solving

Older adults often lack meaningful, independent activities that they can initiate with minimal or no assistance at all. Many existing solutions are expensive and require supervision, and must be shared across units in assisted living, creating access barriers. Others are too complex for residents to use independently, offering only generic engagement with little connection to personal or cultural history. These limitations leave many older adults passive and disengaged, while staff are stretched to move equipment, supervise activities, and fill recreation gaps with limited resources. At a broader level, Canada faces intersecting public health challenges, and dementia and related cognitive impairments affect over 650,000 Canadians today, which is projected to rise sharply by 2050. At the same time, more families are caring for loved ones at home, leaving a growing number of unpaid caregivers at risk of physical, emotional, and financial strain. Social isolation among older adults is now recognized as a serious health risk, increasing rates of depression, hospitalization, and even mortality. While clinical care pathways emphasize safety and diagnosis, a critical gap remains in the development of accessible, engaging tools that support memory, emotional connection, and social well-being. Aging in place requires solutions that are simple, affordable, and personally meaningful. Voiced Memories supports this goal by providing older adults and caregivers with an easy way to engage in cognitive and emotional enrichment from the comfort of their own homes without the need for specialized equipment or supervision. By transforming every photo into moments of reflection and storytelling, the platform enables users to preserve their identity, stimulate memories, and foster connections across generations, supporting dignity and independence as part of aging in the right place. Voiced Memories directly address this, looking to the future, as most photos are now digital.

Study Title (long)

Voiced Memories – A Digital Reminiscence Program to Strengthen Memory, Connection, and Emotional Well-being for Older Adults and Caregivers

Intended Use & Areas of Interest

• General Health and Wellness
• Healthy Aging
• Mental Health

Brief description of how to use

Pillars 1 and 2: A digital photo is uploaded to the website, and an audio recording is created and linked to the photo. They are stored in online galleries for playback at any time. YouTube Video on Creating a Gallery: https://youtu.be/Rqy8GP9S2-0?si=FIJ5F3coTC3hTgCZ Sample gallery: www.voicedmemories.ca

Seeking

• Evaluators
• Investors

Target Market

Canada and Outside Canada, ,

Exclusion Criteria

This study excludes individuals who cannot use digital tools independently or without caregiver assistance, or who are in advanced stages of cognitive decline where interaction with voice-based media is no longer feasible.

Evaluation Period

01/11/2025 - 30/04/2026

Evaluator Sex & Age

Male Female Non-binary , From 30 to 99

Evaluator Compensation

0

Commitment of Evaluators

Memory Cafes powered by Voiced Memories - Attend a Minimum of two cafes | Home Users commit to once every two week for six weeks. Home Use - Once a week for ten minutes for three months

Length of Follow-up (Months)

0

Story Inspiration

Voiced Memories was born from my own caregiving journey. When my dear friend Janis was living with dementia, I saw how hard it was to stay connected as friends; the daily routines and challenges often felt like they swallowed both of us. But when we sat together with old photos, shared a favorite song, or told a story from “back then,” something shifted. For a few minutes, we were simply two friends again, laughing and remembering. Janis loved to tell me stories of her family from before we had met, which provided her with comfort. I realized that the photos we were looking at were holding something fragile, memories and stories that could easily be lost if we didn’t capture them in time. I wanted to create a way to save those stories, not just for us, but for every family walking this road. Voiced Memories grew out of that desire: a simple, guided way to pair photos and voices, spark memory, and preserve identity and connection. As Janis’s dementia progressed, I found myself wondering: could we have seen the signs sooner? She went straight from her home of over 50 years to a locked memory care unit. And how could we make every stage of her journey gentler, more connected, and more supported? Those questions became the seed for our three-pillar system.