Data gathering is made more efficient and fun for Dementia researchers. Glitcher's mobile game application,"Sea Quest Hero" was launched for both Android and iOs smartphones through the combined effort of the University College of London, University of East Anglia, Alzheimer's Research UK and Deutsche Telekom.
According to BBC, "Sea Hero Quest" players will have to navigate through 3D locations following a story of a fisherman's journey to various places to collect memories while in search for items and fighting off the beasts of the sea. Through heat maps, the scientists are focused on the user's spatial ability because if he or she struggles, it could be considered as an early indicator of Dementia.
"Sea Hero Quest" is a game innovation big enough to trigger breakthroughs and give researchers access to bulks of data that can help propel studies on how to cure or prevent Dementia. CNN reported that while Dementia is preventable, 46 million of the world population suffers from the disease and deeply rooted to Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. With a promise of anonymity and even brain imaging probability, "Sea Hero Quest" needs at least 100,000 players before the year ends to make the numbers significant to the research.
However, things are looking up based on the "Sea Hero Quest" popularity. Scientists are now tracking more and more users from various age groups are sparing a few minutes of their time to play with the intent to get a diagnosis or just for the sake of research. In a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, the data already collected through the game in such a short period of time would take seven decades if collected in a laboratory.
"Sea Hero Quest" brings a viable precedent to the gaming industry. The potential of gaming, whether in the form of applications or consoles, can go beyond the simple purpose of entertainment but can actually be a key player in other fields such as medicine and academic research.
