SingHealth Community Hospitals Pioneers Use of Social Robot to Support Inpatient Dementia Care

Humanoid robot Dexie shows promising results in enhancing cognitive therapy and patient engagement

Singapore, 18 September 2025 – To mark World Alzheimer's Month this September, SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) is spotlighting its introduction of Dexie, a social humanoid robot that supports cognitive stimulation and meaningful engagement for patients with dementia. While such technology has been used in some nursing and residential care settings locally, SCH is the first public healthcare institution in Singapore to integrate a social robot into its inpatient dementia care programme, making it part of structured rehabilitation therapy during patients' hospital stays.

The initiative, developed in collaboration with Dex-Lab and Goshen Consultancy Services, began earlier this year and has already shown encouraging outcomes in both patient wellbeing and care efficiency. During the pilot phase, 28 patients were observed and evaluated, of whom 79% had dementia or cognitive impairment. Each patient completed at least six therapy sessions led by Dexie, which featured tailored exercise routines, interactive sing-along activities, and cognitive stimulation games aligned to therapeutic goals.

Transforming Patient Care Through Technology
Dexie is a multilingual humanoid robot that can lead upper body exercises, facilitate cognitive games, converse with patients, and conduct musical activities. It communicates in English, Mandarin, Malay, and various Chinese dialects, making it accessible to Singapore's diverse patient population.

“Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition where neural pathways deteriorate over time,” said Dr Bryan Han, Director, Dementia and Cognitive Care Service, SCH. “Research shows that consistent cognitive stimulation helps maintain neural connections and may slow cognitive decline. The challenge is frequency and consistency, which traditional models cannot always provide due to resource constraints. Dexie fills this gap by delivering evidence-based interventions such as working memory exercises and attention tasks at the intensity patients need. This goes beyond keeping patients occupied; it provides therapeutic interventions that can potentially slow decline and support quality of life.”

“Patients who were initially withdrawn or resistant to therapy have become more motivated and engaged during sessions with Dexie, shared Ms Lisa Tee, Physiotherapist at SCH, who is part of the clinical team overseeing the initiative. One patient who often refused treatment became fully cooperative and even tried movements despite physical limitations. Another, who barely spoke, began interacting and encouraging peers during group activities. Dexie complements our work by providing consistent, patient-centred interactions that encourage participation and enhance overall rehabilitation.”

Measurable Impact on Patient Outcomes
The pilot programme reported positive results across several dimensions:·

32% increase in positive patient engagement during therapy sessions.·
46% of participants showed cognitive improvements, especially in visual scanning, attention, and working memory.·
Operational efficiency gains, with an average of two man-hours reallocated per session to higher-value professional care tasks.·
25% boost in productivity and improved staff-to-patient ratios during group activities (from 1:3 to 1:5-6), enabling more patients to benefit simultaneously.

Expanding Reach and Impact
Since the pilot, SCH has extended the use of Dexie to other patient groups beyond dementia care. To date, Dexie has engaged more than 1,400 patients across SCH which includes patients living with dementia or cognitive impairment, with the numbers set to grow as the programme expands. The team is also developing a playbook on humanoid-enabled therapy and activity intervention in community hospitals, to guide broader adoption of the technology sharing insights and good practices from SCH’s implementation of Dexie. This initiative comes at a critical time: Singapore’s dementia prevalence is projected to almost double from 82,000 in 2020 to 152,000 by 2030. Innovative solutions like Dexie offer a sustainable way to deliver consistent therapeutic engagement while allowing healthcare professionals to focus on complex care needs and emotional support.

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About SingHealth Community Hospitals
SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) comprises Sengkang Community Hospital, Outram Community Hospital and the future Eastern Community Hospital. SCH focuses not just on healthcare but on overall health, working with patients to achieve their individual health goals through person-centred care. As part of the SingHealth Regional Health System, SCH collaborates closely with community partners to provide holistic and seamless care, supporting patients to recover well in hospital and stay well in the community.  