Patent

Due to the number of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (or other forms of dementia) increasing along with a growing elderly population, this invention aims to improve the cognitive abilities of those suffering from memory loss. As Alzheimer’s patients often forget the names and faces of their family members or those around them, this invention proposes a puzzle that targets memory retention through facial and name recognition skills.

The invention will require receiving submitted pictures from users that are then manufactured into puzzles with the names of the people in the submitted picture included. The process of manufacturing the desired puzzle will require input information (the displayed names and people's faces from the submitted photos) to create an output (the finished puzzle). The finished product will entail a completed puzzle that matches the faces and names of significant people in the puzzle users’ lives.

The more often a puzzle user puts a puzzle together, the easier it is to remember people's names and faces, which is particularly helpful for Alzheimer's patients. While many variations and forms of the invention can exist, this invention identifies a variation in which for every person represented in a puzzle picture, their names are displayed, and a puzzle piece is formed so that the person and their name are separated. The user then matches the puzzle piece of the person’s face to their name. This invention includes puzzle pieces with both the first letter of a person’s name and a portion of their face so that the puzzle solver has a hint. This invention can be utilized by a variety of puzzle solvers, of all ages and genders.

In additional variations, the invented puzzle does not have to be limited to portrait pictures but can draw from meaningful images that recall places, animals, or events as visual representations of a puzzle user’s memory. In this type of puzzle, the solver can match a place to an event in order to simultaneously improve object/place recognition while helping an Alzheimer’s patient recall a meaningful memory.

Although the invention is intended to improve cognitive abilities through memory retention, these puzzles can be enjoyed recreationally by photography lovers or users hoping to personalize their puzzles. Moreover, the invention can be formatted to fit a computer, tablet, or smartphone, taking on a mobile capacity. In its description of the various capabilities and intent of the invention, this patent application emphasizes that the puzzle is not defined by one form, capacity, or purpose, and exists as an easily manufacturable invention that can improve the lives of those suffering from Alzheimer’s—as well as those of their families and caretakers.