Schmidthorst College of Business graduate helps reconnect families to loved ones with Alzheimer’s

Newly launched app helps stimulate memories with familiar images, sounds and videos

Jacob Kielmeyer, a 2020 Bowling Green State University (BGSU) graduate, recently launched a reminiscence therapy app that helps reconnect families to loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. The product, Nostalgia Therapy, is a multimodal reminiscence therapy application that provides a simple and effective way for families to reconnect to a loved one with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia by combining three effective memory therapies into one easy-to-use web application: photos, music and videos. Reminiscence therapy works by stimulating the brain with familiar images, sounds, videos and activities to spur conversations and unlock memories.

Kielmeyer’s journey with Nostalgia started five years ago during his senior year of high school. At the time, Nostalgia was a Distributive Education Club of American (DECA) project that was born out of his experiences with Alzheimer's disease. His grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was five years old, and because of that, he never had a relationship with him. This disconnect with his grandfather was hard as a child, and that feeling stayed with him long after his grandfather’s passing. It was this feeling that has driven him to find a way to bridge the emotional disconnect between families and loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease.

Clinicians use reminiscence therapy to help people that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s to remember things from their past. Nostalgia Therapy provides music and videos through a built- in streaming service. Families can upload their own photos in the “My Moments” photo album on the app. Those affected by Alzheimer’s are not intended to use the app alone, but with the help of caregivers and loved ones. Access to the app can be found on the Nostalgia Therapies website for a monthly fee of $7.

After graduating from high school, Kielmeyer decided to apply for the Hatch program during his freshman year in 2016. The Hatch is a unique BGSU program, like the television program “Shark Tank,” where students develop new inventions and then pitch them to a panel of investors comprised of BG alumni. During the Hatch, Kielmeyer was paired with his mentor and BGSU alum, Burce Fisher ’68, who helped guide him through the program and has continued to provide guidance to him since. While he did not secure funding from his presentation on the Hatch, he was offered a meeting with researchers from the Cleveland Clinic to continue improving his idea.
After graduating from BGSU in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in individualized business and a minor in pre-business law, he continued his work on Nostalgia. With the help of the Hatch program, his small idea for a DECA competition became reality.

“When I set out to create Nostalgia, I had no idea what kind of journey I would be embarking on. Creating Nostalgia has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had, and I am incredibly hopeful that it will have the positive impact for families and loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease that I wanted to have with my own grandfather.”