Web sites are often used to reinforce branding and build awareness of television programming, but PBS is taking that idea one step further. Underscoring its mission of public service, the organization is implementing a comprehensive Web site aimed at easing the burdens of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.

Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) National Productions, the producer of the upcoming PBS documentary series “THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer&singlequot;s,” has built an accompanying Web site for the program that not only provides branding ties back to the show but also offers a unique, innovative therapy for Alzheimer’s patients.

As you might expect, the site offers comprehensive advice, news and information about Alzheimer’s. But the centerpiece of the site is The Living Center, a custom-built interactive environment designed for patients and caregivers to experience together. Created by the MIT Media Lab under the direction of TPT, The Living Center helps relieve the stress of visiting with an Alzheimer&singlequot;s patient by providing stimulating and engaging activities that patients will enjoy.

When the caregiver and patient enter The Living Center section of the site, their entire computer screen becomes a virtual living room, with a fireplace, a bookshelf, a framed picture, a map on the wall and a window looking out onto the backyard. Each of these objects is an activity or a link to an activity.

For example, as the clock chimes, visitors can pick up a poker to stoke the fire. Or they can look at pictures and listen to music from other times and places, an activity that may help them remember a place they once visited or a favorite song. They can also page through a 1950s Sears catalog, pick out items they like and mark them so they can return to them later.

"The Living Center is a first-ever interactive &singlequot;home on the Web&singlequot; for people with memory disorders to explore on their own, with family, friends or even a visiting grandchild," said Lisa Gwyther, an expert on Alzheimer&singlequot;s therapy and the Web site&singlequot;s key advisor. "Because no two people with Alzheimer&singlequot;s are alike, The Living Center is designed to respond to preferences of people with diverse interests and capacities in truly welcoming and interesting ways."

Plus, the Living Center is designed to take away some of the pressures that Alzheimer’s patients experience in social situations. "The Living Center allows users to focus their attention on a shared experience without taxing the memory of the Alzheimer&singlequot;s sufferer or the patience of the caregiver," explained Ted Selker, MIT Media Lab&singlequot;s lead designer of The Living Center. "We have created an environment that should be comfortable and recognizable to patients, one in which they will feel no pressure."

Because of the intuitive, homey feel of the graphical elements, patients were comfortable with the application right away, even if they had never used a computer before, Selker said.

In tests, “none of the Alzheimer&singlequot;s patients had used a computer before, but they did not shy away from interacting with The Living Center," Selker said. “And caregivers told us that, working with The Living Center, they learned things they didn&singlequot;t know about their patients. Some said they had never heard them talk so much."

The site’s accompanying documentary series is scheduled to air on PBS Jan. 21. For more information, visit PBS or the site here.