If you care for someone with dementia, you probably know the pattern. Afternoon comes and they start getting anxious. By dinner they're pacing, or asking to go home, or upset with you for reasons you can't figure out. Some nights it passes in twenty minutes. Some nights it doesn't.
That's sundowning, and it's why we started Hamton. We're a small startup, and our goal is to help reduce sundowning, both for the person going through it and for whoever is looking after them.
What Hamton does
Hamton gives your loved one their own phone number. When things start to go downhill, you call it, put it on speaker or hand them the phone, and they hear a voice they know. It might be their daughter, their husband or an old friend. Whoever they trust most.
That voice is built from a few short recordings, made with that person's permission. It knows what your family told us: what they like to be called, the stories they love to tell, the places that meant something to them. It uses all of that to help them calm down. It works on any phone, so there's nothing new for them to learn.
Setting it up
Tell us about them
What they like to be called, the people and places that matter to them, the stories they tell over and over. You can type it or just talk.
Record a voice
The person they trust most reads a few short passages out loud. We only build a voice with that person's permission.
Get the number
Your loved one gets their own Hamton number. Save it, and give it to anyone else who helps with their care.
Call when it starts
When you see the agitation building, call. You can also schedule calls for the time of day it usually starts.
What a call sounds like
The voice doesn't argue with them or try to correct them. If your mom says she needs to go pick up the kids, it won't remind her the kids are fifty. It listens, tells her it understands why she's worried, lets her know she's safe, and then starts talking about something she loves, like summers at the lake or the dog she had growing up. Once she's settled, it says goodbye and hangs up.
Dementia care staff are trained to do the same thing. They call it validation, reminiscence and redirection.
You can tell Hamton to stay away from certain subjects, like a death in the family, and it will. After the call you can read a transcript and see what helped, and anything new that came up can be saved for next time. There's more detail on the how it works page.
The research study
The first families who sign up are also part of our research study. There's no separate application. If you're one of the first to sign up, you're in.
We're new, and we don't want to guess at what works. So we're going to stay close to these families and pay attention to how they actually use Hamton: when they call, how the calls go, and what's missing. You use Hamton like anyone else would. The difference is that you'll have someone on our team you can talk to directly, and we'll ask you how things went.
Here's what that means for you:
- Someone from our team will help you set it up, including recording the voice and choosing which memories to start with.
- You'll deal with the same person the whole way through. If something isn't working, tell them and they'll help you sort it out.
- Your feedback goes straight to the people building Hamton, and it decides what we work on next.
Who should sign up
You're a good fit if you care for someone with dementia or Alzheimer's, at home or in a care community, and the late afternoons and evenings have gotten hard. Maybe it's agitation, maybe it's pacing, maybe they keep asking to go home. You'll also need to be willing to tell us honestly how the calls go.
How to join
Sign up
Create an account in the Hamton app. Signing up is how you join the study.
We'll reach out
Someone from our team will get in touch to introduce themselves.
Set it up together
We'll help you record the voice and add the first memories, so it's ready before the next bad evening.
Use it and let us know
Call your Hamton number when the sundowning starts, and send us a quick note afterward about how it went.
Questions
What is Hamton?
A phone line for sundowning. You call your loved one's Hamton number when they start getting agitated, and a voice they know talks with them until they've calmed down. The voice is built from recordings of a family member, made with their permission. More on how it works.
Who's behind Hamton?
We're a small startup focused on one thing: helping families deal with sundowning. You can read more about us.
How do we join?
Just sign up. The first families to sign up are the study, so there's no application. We'll contact you after you sign up.
Is this a clinical trial?
No. It's our own research with the families using Hamton. We're not testing a medical treatment, and Hamton isn't a medical device. Keep working with your doctor and care team as usual.
How much time will it take?
Setup is the biggest part, and we do that with you. After that we'll ask for a quick note after your calls. You've got a lot on your plate, so go at whatever pace works for you.
What happens to what we share?
We use it to make Hamton better. Being in the study doesn't change how we handle your data. Voice recordings and memories are encrypted, only your family can see them, and we never sell them. Details are in our privacy policy and consent policy.
Will you publish our story?
Not without your written permission. If we ever want to write about your family, you'll see it first, and you can say no without leaving the study.
Can care teams take part?
Yes. If you work in memory care, assisted living or home care, go to the care partners page and we'll set up a call.
Can we drop out?
Any time. Just tell us and we'll stop asking for feedback. You can keep using Hamton either way.