The COOK assistive technology for cognition for older adults with cognitive deficits: a usability study

The significantly accelerated use of technology by older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic provides an ideal opportunity to link the use of technology to home safety and aging in place. Our team developed COOK (Cognitive Orthosis for coOKing), an assistive technology for cognition. The study aimed to identify (1) usability issues of COOK for older adults living with and/or without cognitive impairments and (2) the modifications needed to improve its usability and facilitate its deployment.Methods: We conducted a mixed user-centred co-design study including (1) laboratory task scenarios and (2) real-world setting use. We also administered usability and user experience questionnaires. Qualitative deductive thematic analyses and descriptive statistical analyses were used.

Evaluation of the perceived usability of COOK indicated generally positive prospects. A first evaluation (Study 1) allowed us to simplify several safety-related functionalities, which emerged as key elements to consider. Additionally, a version named COOK - My Safety emerged and was also evaluated (Study 2).

This article confirms the potential of COOK to assist this clientele, with some reported usability problems. Modifications to rectify them were proposed, particularly to prevent safety hazards. The assistive features may require further prototyping.

The next step will be to develop a suitable version to test long-term use in a real-world setting.