After Galia Vakhbi saw her grandfather struggling to remember the names of his grandchildren, whom he had known and loved his entire life, she realized that she was witnessing not just memory loss, but a slowly fading connection.
A 12th-grade student from the American School in Dubai turned this deeply personal experience into an application called Alzimate. This program is designed to help people suffering from Alzheimer's disease reconnect with familiar faces, voices, and memories, while also providing families and caregivers with a place to store important information.
The recently available app has already received over 400 downloads, according to Galia herself. It allows families to create personalized profiles where they can add photos, memories, details about important people, voice recordings, music, and even medication details—information that can help make the daily life of someone with Alzheimer's feel more familiar to them.
The idea for the app originated with her grandfather. When she was about seven years old, a noticeable decline in his memory began, but one specific change made her realize how much this condition affected his relationships. She recalls: 'The moment I understood there was a real gap was when he started forgetting who his grandchildren were. They were people he had known and loved his whole life, but suddenly it became difficult for him to remember who we were.'
Galia emphasized that this particularly touched her because she saw how memory loss began to affect his closeness with the people closest to him. This prompted her to wonder if technology could help bridge this gap, which became the starting point for creating Alzimate.
Her grandfather played an important role in her childhood, filling ordinary moments with conversations and lessons. Even as his memory declined, these experiences remained vivid for her. Galia shares that at some point, her grandfather stopped calling her by name, yet she could see in his eyes that he knew who she was. At the same time, she noticed his struggle and near disappointment that he couldn't recall her name.
These memories shaped her view of Alzheimer's disease—she stopped seeing it merely as a condition causing forgetfulness and began to see it as a factor that makes recognizing familiar people and relationships increasingly complex. She notes: 'I think that's what changed my view on Alzheimer's. Even when he started forgetting parts of our relationship, I didn't forget them. It made me realize how much more there is beyond memory loss, and to want to find a way to preserve those connections.'
Alzimate allows family members or caregivers to create a personalized profile for the patient. They can add photos, memories, names, relatives, audio recordings, and music, which, according to Galia, creates a more personal rather than purely medical experience. The family can regularly update the app and create albums, providing the loved one with a constant place to return to and review these memories.
Another important idea for the app arose while observing her grandfather at a family event. She remembers him spending most of his time trying to figure out who the people around him were, which led her to consider the isolation that Alzheimer's disease can cause, even when surrounded by family. Galia believes this became the central idea for the family albums and photos in Alzimate. Her hope is that the app will help patients familiarize themselves with their closest loved ones before spending time together, so they can communicate and enjoy more, rather than spending time figuring out who is in front of them.
Furthermore, the app includes medication information and other vital details intended to support caregivers in the practical aspects of caring for someone with Alzheimer's. Galia's ambition is for Alzimate to eventually reach families far beyond the experience that inspired it. She wants to continue learning based on user feedback to improve the program and aims for Alzimate to become a support for millions of patients and families worldwide. Meanwhile, Galia insists that the app must remain free for all users, as accessibility is a key element of her vision.