new york | The Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged is using a new software program that deals with cognitive challenges among older people.

MindFit (www.e-mindfitness.com), created by CogniFit Ltd., is a computer-based “brain gym” providing entertainment and promising improved mental acuity.

“As Florida’s largest nursing home and a nonprofit organization, it was important to us to test many products on the market and choose the most cost-effective cognitive exercising system available. That was MindFit,” said Dr. Marc Agronin, director of mental health services at the Miami community.

In a double-blind clinical trial of baby boomers and seniors, MindFit users experienced improvement in the cognitive domains of spatial short-term memory, visual-spatial learning and focused attention than those who played traditional computer games, according to the software developer.

Other facilities using MindFit are Maryland’s Montgomery County Department of Recreation and Senior Friendship Centers throughout central Florida.