A mobile phone app designed to support the elderly has been hailed as ’potentially life-changing’ by the hospice.

The free Memory Lane Games app launched in the island this week where it provides a number of simple-to-play quiz games based on popular topics and Manx nostalgia to help elderly people as well as dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.

Plans are also afoot to have the app launched further afield in the UK and Ireland next month.

Chief executive officer and co-founder Bruce Elliott first came up the idea with friend Peter Quayle, chief operations officer and co-founder of the app, while sitting in the Crosby pub.

Together they had discussed how they could better connect with their mothers who are both in their 80s - one of whom has vascular dementia.

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’We have since built our first app here, hired two returning university graduates and have three university students on contract,’ said Mr Elliott.

He added that they had volunteers help build games for the elderly near them in the island and also across.

The team, which worked over lockdown, received a small grant from the Manx government to create and launch the app that ’turns memories into games’ on Tuesday (July 21).

Five members spent time working on the app together while social distancing at The Engine House in Castletown when lockdown rules relaxed.

’We are really excited about what we are doing,’ Mr Elliott said.

The team is working with Hospice Isle of Man with plans to have the app tested by patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Staff members and volunteers will be providing clinical feedback on the app.

Earlier this month, Mr Quayle presented a tablet with the app for socially-isolating elderly people at the hospice.

Hospice Isle of Man’s chief executive officer, Anne Mills, said: ’At Hospice we love the simplicity of the Memory Lane Games front-end designs and we are absolutely delighted to be part of this potentially life-changing project.’

A number of games on the app are based on the Isle of Man and use images from Manx National Heritage, local artists and photographers.

The island-themed categories include Manx trivia, Manx walks, Manx flowers and the Isle of Man TT.

Visit www.MemoryLaneGames.com to download the free app from the Google Play Store (Android) and the Apple App Store.