A memory game app invented in the Isle of Man has been named a semi-finalist in the £4.2m Longitude Prize on Dementia.

Bruce Elliott and Peter Quayle were in The Crosby pub discussing their mothers’ conditions when they came up with the concept for a game which could use familiar old photographs to stimulate memory.

The Memory Lane Games app has now been downloaded more than 50,000 times in 100 countries and is available for free on the Apple App Store or Google Playstore (for android devices).

Described as an ‘AI-enabled personalised digital reminiscence platform’, as a semi-finalist the company is being awarded an £80k grant from the total £4.2m prize pot.

The Longitude Prize is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society UK, and is aimed at ‘driving the co-creation of personalised technologies to help people living with dementia enjoy independent and fulfilled lives’.

A large catalogue of memory/recognition games can be played through the app, with themes ranging from geographical places and landmarks, to the popular ‘finish the 1960s song lyric’.

Earlier this year, the app was recognised by the prestigious Mayo Clinic in the US, winning the ‘Judge’s choice’ award as one of only nine medical devices accepted for a competition.

Mr Elliott said: ‘Our app already makes a difference to people living with dementia and their carers and with our proposed adaptive AI models, co-designed to be accessible and fun, we will learn to deliver continued engagement, critical to adoption and ongoing use, in order to foster reminiscence and positive socialisation.

‘Ultimately we will improve and extend the quality of life for people living at home with dementia, addressing their daily communications and social interaction needs with activities they can enjoy playing for years, promoting a sense of self, achievement and cognitive resilience.’