The new Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College London joins six national biomedical science centres that collectively make up the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI). This ground-breaking GBP 20 million (EUR 23.2 million) research centre will develop new technologies to create dementia-friendly “Healthy Homes” and provide insights into how dementia develops. The UK DRI aims to transform the way that dementia is diagnosed and treated, to bring us closer to the day we have a cure. The UK DRI is the UK’s biggest investment in dementia research to date, representing GBP 250 million (EUR 290 million) from founding partners the Alzheimer’s Society, the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer's Research UK.
The Alzheimer’s Society is delighted to see this new element of the UK DRI come to life with scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers working closely with people affected by dementia. Together, they will harness technology like artificial intelligence, robotics and wearable sensors and bring it all together into dementia friendly Healthy Homes. All of this will help people with dementia to live safely and healthily at home for longer.
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at the Alzheimer's Society said "Developing dementia shouldn't have to mean losing your independence and your choice to live in your own home, but we know there can be problems - from the 74-year-old who kept leaving the gas on, to the woman whose urine infection went undetected so long she ended up spending 12 weeks in hospital - and we want to find a solution."
The UK DRI Care Research and Technology Centre aims to develop technology that can pick up early signs so that people get the help they need before problems hit a crisis. One fifth of Hospital admissions for people with dementia in the UK are due to entirely preventable causes such as falls and infections. Professor David Sharp, Neurologist at Imperial College London and Director of the new centre said: "The new technologies will allow us to intervene at an early stage. What's more we'll be able to improve our understanding of dementia onset and progression." For more information visit: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/5-new-technologies-could-help-people-dementia-live-home-longer
