The majority of people say that as they get older they would like to be able to remain living in their own home for as long as possible, even when they may be living with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Of course, they will need more support and this may be difficult if family are living a distance away and with responsibilities for work and children, or if carers can only be made available for a limited time each day.

However, there are many technological advances that can help people to live independently and safely for longer.

Some are simple ideas, such as the clock that has been designed to be easy to read for dementia users and helps them distinguish day and night. Automatic calendar clocks show the date and day of the week as well as the time and some also show whether it is morning or evening.

Remembering to take medication can be as simple as a pillbox marked with days of the week, or as high-tech as automated pill dispensers which beep and open to remind caregivers and those with dementia to take their medication.

As memory fades, people can find it difficult to remember phone numbers or people’s names. It is now possible to get picture phones that also have large numbers and are pre-programmable with frequently called phone numbers.

Nowadays there are many in-home devices that can help by prompting people with reminders, for example to take medication, or turn off the gas or electricity after cooking, and if they can be accessed remotely then trusted carers, or family, can support their loved one by adding reminders even when they can’t be physically present.

Another worry for carers is when a person with dementia leaves their home and perhaps forgets the way back or has been out of contact for more time than seems reasonable. GPRS tracking on a mobile phone could help to locate the person.

In June this year the Financial Times reported on some of the research and development being carried out in the field of “dementia technology”.

They include the launch of a £20m Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College London, as well as the start of a project to investigate the use of Lidar — the spatial perception technology incorporated in self-driving cars — to help look after people at home. Another recent initiative is a smartphone app to remind people with dementia how to carry out everyday tasks.

The centre will also be investigating technology that can be used in the home or on the body to track vital signs such as heartbeat, blood pressure and body temperature, as well as movements such as walking and the possibility of using AI to integrate this information and alert carers to any changes.

The Alzheimer’s Society has announced the first two winners of its crowdsourcing programme, each of which will receive £100,000 for further development.

One is Jelly Drops — sweets containing 90 per cent water to prevent or relieve dehydration, a frequent problem in dementia care.

The other is a smartphone app called How Do I? It will prompt people through the steps of boiling a kettle, making a cup of tea or taking a bath and may eventually have the potential for prompting other forgotten memories.

While there may come a point where, someone with dementia needs to enter residential care, there is no reason why some of the technology being developed cannot be equally useful in a residential setting.