Charities launch £4.1m prize for innovators developing technologies for people with dementia
Alzheimer’s Society, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are launching a new £4.1 million prize in September 2022 that seeks personalised assistive technology innovations that help people with dementia to remain independent in their own homes.
The Longitude Prize on Dementia was inspired by the original Longitude Prize of 1714, and aims to incentivise assistive technologies to help people remain independent in their homes, an effective way to slow the disease’s progression.
Innovators will be challenged to develop technologies that learn about the lives of people with early-stage dementia, employing machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to bridge cognitive gaps as their condition progresses.
Over £3.1 million in seed funding and grants will be awarded to the most promising innovators, with a £1 million prize awarded to the winner of the Longitude Prize on Dementia in 2026.
Kate Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Current technologies supporting dementia care focus on monitoring people and alerting their carers but there are real opportunities for innovation that will support people to live joyfully and independently.
“The Longitude Prize on Dementia will deliver technologies that become an extension of the individual’s working ‘brain’ and memory in a way that is specific to their needs. This will enable them to continue living at home and doing the things they love for as long as possible.”
In addition, wider support has been funded to provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise, facilitating whatever they need to bring their ideas to life, including access to data; collaborations with dementia patients and dementia organisations in the UK and around the world; advice on product design; and user experience and business mentoring.
The prize will be delivered by innovation challenge prize experts, Challenge Works (the new name of Nesta Challenges). The entry window will open when the prize launches in September 2022.
To register interest in the Longitude Prize on Dementia ahead of the September 2022 launch, click here.
Tris Dyson, Managing Director of Challenge Works, added: “Challenge prizes incentivise the development of breakthrough technologies to solve some of the most intractable problems of our time.
“By levelling the playing field for innovators, through an open competition, with seed funding and expert capacity building support, they enable a diversity of approaches to a problem to progress through the competition.
“This will allow the best solution winning the top prize only after it has proven its effectiveness.”
There are currently 850,000 people with dementia in the UK and this number is projected to double to two million by 2050, according to figures revealed by Tunstall Healthcare. The telecare provider states that it is crucial for caregivers to understand how technology can help people living with dementia maintain their independence, stay safe and remain active.
https://thiis.co.uk/charities-launch-4-1m-prize-for-innovators-developing-technologies-for-people-with-dementia/https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RS11530__pp.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RS11530__pp-150x150.jpgNewsroomSector NewsThird SectorAlzheimer's Society,assistive tech,dementia,Innovate UK,PrizeAlzheimer’s Society, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are launching a new £4.1 million prize in September 2022 that seeks personalised assistive technology innovations that help people with dementia to remain independent in their own homes. The Longitude Prize on Dementia was inspired by the original Longitude Prize...Liane McIvorLiane McIvorliane@thiis.co.ukEditorTHIIS Magazine