We see the person, not the disease

our multi-disciplinary approach

helps people live well with dementia

while reducing health costs.

DevaWorld™ improves quality of life

through personalized activities

that celebrate people and relationships, delivered via
world’s first dementia-friendly virtual world.

Built on a 3D game engine, for touchscreen tablet.

ADLs are managed better after a DevaWorld Session
We digitally deliver multiple cognitive therapies that stimulate a person’s higher needs of belonging, esteem and self-actualization, making everyday care easier and less costly.

We amplify human energy (not replace it) with technology that promotes the active participation of both members of the care dyad.

15+ evidence-based therapeutic activities and person-centered strategies build confidence and agency.

Virtual world play with real world outcomes
Deva World is a calm and meaningful place full of social and environmental interactions for increased communication and understanding.

"It reminded me of someone who was blind, and suddenly could see"

Margaret Szabo, RN BSc MBA, Director Business Development, Northwood, Canada

"Norma loved it! Deva made her forget her distress over missing crackers and her daughter-in-law found the experience fascinating"

Shelley Katz, Activity Director
Bello Gardens, CA

"I shared Deva World with hundreds throughout my community. People were blown away and excited about Deva world"

Kathy Helgerson,
Founder, SimpleSteps
First Deva-in-the-Field
La Crosse, Wisconsin

"It would be great to be able to give this to somebody in the earlier stages to set it all up with everything they like and have the care partners involved"

Phyllis Fehr
International speaker and advocate. Living well with dementia.
Ontario, CA

"Deva World is important to support our new brand message: elevating the human spirit"

Saudia Gajadhar, US Director of Marketing, Comfort Keepers

"Normally she repeats the same 4 or 5 questions. This time, we had 30 mins of conversation laughing and happier and very peaceful when we left. Often she's a bit agitated when we leave but not on this Sunday"

Evy Cugelman, RN and Validation Therapist

"I wanted to tell you that Eli was absolutely inspired by yesterday’s session. She couldn’t stop talking about the amazing results for all the participants"

Pamela Bruder, Life Style and Enrichment Program Coordinator,
Emmy Monash Aged Care, Melbourne, Australia

"I used Deva for the first time today with a client. She is middle Alzheimer's. She enjoyed it and said it brought back memories. It did, and we talked about several things in her past. I loooovedd that I could personalize it with some of her wedding and other photos! So cool!"

Allison Scharr, RMA, CLL, CDS at Active Minds, Happy Hearts

"What a great morning! Muriel keeps saying “That was incredible!” She is still raving about the experience and wants to market your product"

Shelley Katz, Activity Director
Bello Gardens, CA

"A resident, who often wanders away from group activities, was able to stay focused for 20 minutes with facial expressions of joy."

Odile Lavault,
Recreation therapist CTRS,
Certified Validation teacher,
San Francisco

"Deva, given its foundational principles in evidence-supported concepts of self, presence, person-hood and efficacy, holds significant promise as an innovative technology with high value impact on quality of life and caregiver burden for people with dementia and their families"

Margaret Szabo, RN BSc MBA, Director Business Development, Northwood, Canada

"Deva has real opportunity as a portal for many engaging activities from music to drama, adventure to art."

John Zeisel, PhD,
President
I'm Still Here Foundation
& Hearthstone Alzheimer Care,
Boston

“This is a breath of fresh air and is exactly the way we need to be thinking given the dementia cohort of the future... meaningful virtual worlds for tablet devices open up realms of possibility in both research and consumer domains.”

Professor June Andrews,
Dementia Services Development Centre,
Stirling University, UK

"I’m used to playing games a lot faster, but for my grandmother this is exactly the speed that I want."

Sergio,
part time student RN caring for his grandmother full-time
Cambridge MA.

Here’s what happens in a Deva World session

Here’s a great example of ‘self engagement’. The memory care resident finds a transistor radio on the garden bench. He turns it on and sings along. While singing, he also feeds Dixie, the cat. Despite his cognitive impairment, he has no trouble multitasking. He is in the zone of optimal engagement.

Norma is anxious. Someone took her biscuits. We start playing Deva World. She enjoys the music and begins dancing in her chair. I ask her about her love of dancing and memories of meeting her husband at a dance comes to the fore. Norma forgets about her missing biscuits.

An excerpt from an evaluation study. Agnes, a memory care resident, has been feeling isolated. When Agnes sees her photo, she exclaims “Am I??” Even though people have difficulty finding words, we often notice the use of I’s and ’we’s, which are key expressions of the sense of self.

Deva World supports cultural and linguistic diversity

Connecting to spiritual life through Deva World: here, Poppy, who has never used a computer before, interacts with a book of religious icons. Poppy, who has trouble finding words, names the Saints while turning the pages.

When Maria is playing Deva World, her tremor abates. We can also see the gentle encouragement delivered by Eketerina, her supporter.

People can feel isolated even though they are living in a community. In this session, entirely conducted in Greek, Michael is working with one resident. She finds the Greek records. Her singing is infectious. Soon, a group gathers and gets involved.

Our community

Case Study

“Supporting well-being through virtual world play”
Learn how a caregiver can build a bridge to engagement and communication for a senior with dementia.

Read Case Study

Grounded in science

Deva World was built from the ground up with a residential community receiving full-time memory care, informed by dementia therapy best practices.

The caregiver/player relationship is integrated at the design level. This joint experience is key to players’ improved mood and sense of wellbeing.

The project was developed by Australian creative media-maker and social-scientist, Mandy Salomon PhD, who, while researching online virtual communities at Melbourne’s Swinburne University, observed that people can be more themselves in a virtual world than they can in the actual world.

Deva World one of “Top Seven Startups for Souped-Up Senior Care”

Read Article

An immersive multimedia environment may give people a sense of purpose

Read Article

The Gerontologist

The San Francisco Bay Area – Is That Where You Can Find the Most Disruptive Age Tech Companies?

Read Article