Structuring recipes and media applicable to a cooking navigation system for people with cognitive dysfunctions

A brain injury can cause many cognitive dysfunctions, including aphasia, memory disorder, attention deficit, and so on. Although cooking training programs are popular as a rehabilitation method for people with cognitive dysfunctions, it is difficult to have such individuals perform cooking alone. Ordinary recipes (such as those found in books or TV programs) and existing cooking support systems are not designed with cognitive dysfunctions in mind and require too much capability in terms of comprehension and memory. We have developed a multimedia cooking navigation system that can effectively support individuals with cognitive dysfunctions. The system integrates and displays recipes available in different media, and users can easily choose which media they receive and therefore better understand the cooking procedures. We tested the system by using it in the rehabilitation of a patient, with encouraging results: The patient became more positive about cooking and her feeling of independence was increased.