Virtual Care Assistant for Alzheimer's Dementia Caregivers
(VICA Trial)
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of VICA, an AI-powered virtual care assistant that delivers evidence-based education, symptom monitoring, and coaching to informal caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Sixty caregiver-patient dyads will be randomized 1:1 to VICA or an attention-control education app (Dementia Guide Expert) for 3 months. The study will assess recruitment, VICA acceptance/usability, and engagement (Aim 1), and estimate effect sizes for reducing patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and caregiver distress (Aim 2).
Who Is on the Research Team?
Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH
Principal Investigator
Indiana University School of Medicine, Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for people who are informal caregivers of someone with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. Both the caregiver and the person they care for must be willing to participate as a pair.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Treatment
Caregivers use the VICA platform or Dementia Guide Expert app 3 times per week for approximately 20 minutes over 3 months
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment, with assessments at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Trial Overview
The study compares an AI-powered virtual assistant app (VICA) that offers education, symptom tracking, and coaching to caregivers against a standard educational dementia app. Participants are randomly assigned to one of these two apps for three months.
How Is the Trial Designed?
2
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Access to the VICA AI-powered avatar platform for 3 months; caregivers encouraged to engage 3x/week for \~20 minutes per session. VICA delivers education, resource information, and symptom-monitoring (HABC-Monitor) grounded in the ABC collaborative dementia care model via a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system.
Access to Dementia Guide Expert, an existing free, education-only BPSD mobile app (ENGAGE-IL initiative, University of Illinois at Chicago), used on the same 3x/week, \~20 minute schedule for 3 months. No interactive coaching, assessment, or personalized response.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Indiana University
Lead Sponsor
University of Notre Dame
Collaborator
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