Introduction

Nostos is a culturally grounded, AI-enabled rhythm-game platform designed to slow cognitive decline in patients with dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). With over 55 million people affected worldwide, current solutions often rely on pharmacological treatments with heavy side effects or generic "brain training" apps that lack cultural resonance.

Nostos fills this gap by transforming clinical therapy into engaging entertainment. By using familiar Thai music and elderly-friendly game mechanics, Nostos provides a "physical" and emotional solution that reduces anxiety, stimulates cognitive reserve, and maintains a high quality of life for seniors—all while capturing vital data for their caregivers.

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Key Features

• Automatic Beatmap Generation: A proprietary Python-based tool that uses tempo detection and onset analysis to convert any Thai song into a playable game level instantly.
• Senior-First UX Design: Features large, high-contrast lanes, slowed scrolling speeds, and a "no game over" state to eliminate performance pressure and frustration.
• Culturally Grounded Content: Specifically utilizes Thai music and familiar rhythmic patterns to trigger long-term memory and emotional bonding.
• Comprehensive Metrics Logging: Tracks millisecond-precise data, including reaction time, timing accuracy, consistency, and hold-note stability.
• Caregiver Dashboard: (In development) A specialized interface that summarizes gameplay data into meaningful cognitive trends for family members and healthcare providers.

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Development and Innovation

The innovation behind Nostos lies in its end-to-end technical pipeline that bridges the gap between music information retrieval and therapeutic gameplay.

The Technical Workflow

1. Audio Analysis: Using the Librosa library, the system analyzes Thai music files to detect beats, energy peaks, and rhythmic onsets.
2. Rule-Based Note Selection: An algorithm generates tap and hold notes based on difficulty scaling, ensuring patterns are never too dense or unreadable for seniors.
3. Unity Integration: The generated MIDI beatmaps are imported into the Unity Game Engine, where they are rendered into an accessible, 2D interactive environment using C# scripting.

Cognitive Data Science

Nostos treats every tap as a data point. By measuring the Consistency Index and Pattern Recall Stability, the system creates a digital profile of the user’s cognitive state, providing a more granular view of progress than traditional periodic clinical tests.

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Impact and Future Directions

Nostos aims to revolutionize home-based dementia care in Thailand and the broader ASEAN region. By moving therapy from the clinic to the living room, we increase adherence and provide seniors with a sense of agency and joy.

Our Roadmap for Scalable Impact:

• AI Personalization Layer: Implementing a "just-right" challenge zone using dynamic difficulty adjustment to keep players engaged in a "flow" state.
• Clinical Collaboration: Partnering with neurologists and memory clinics to validate Nostos as a standardized non-pharmacological intervention.
• Regional Expansion: Scaling the platform across ASEAN by localizing music libraries and cultural cues to support aging populations in neighboring countries.
• Hardware Integration: Developing specialized, high-tactile controllers to further assist users with motor limitations.

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