FRONTIER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF THOSE WITH DEMENTIA
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, the number of people with dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to 1.1 million by 2025 and the condition is one of the main causes of disability later in life, ahead of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Sleep disturbances are common for people with dementia, causing problems with the sleep-wake cycle and affecting their wellbeing. With people living longer, it is vital to find ways to help patients remain in their own homes for longer with a good quality of life.
The University is collaborating with Imperial College London on a pioneering £20m Care Research & Technology Centre to develop new technologies to create dementia- friendly ‘Healthy Homes’ and provide insights into how dementia develops.
The Centre, funded by the Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK, will use a range of approaches – from artificial intelligence and robotics to sleep monitoring – to enable people with dementia to live safely and independently in their own homes.
The work being completed is based on the award-winning TIHM (Technology Integrated Health Management) for dementia project, led by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust with the support of the University.
TIHM uses a network of internet-enabled devices installed in the home in combination with machine learning to remotely monitor the health of people with dementia living independently.
As part of the new project, the Surrey Sleep Research Centre and the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing will develop new ways to track sleep and circadian rhythms. Sensors placed around the house or on a patient’s body will provide important information on sleep and brain activity which was previously hard to measure in the home. Artificial intelligence will automatically integrate all this patient information and flag potential issues – for example, waking frequently in the night.
Surrey’s Professor Payam Barnaghi, Deputy Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, said: “Stays in hospitals and care homes can be very distressing for people with dementia. Not only are they trying to navigate a new physical environment, they are distanced from their friends and families causing further distress. The technologies involved in this project will enable people to live independently at home whilst not sacrificing their care. Improving the quality of life of people with dementia is crucial to their and their families’ overall wellbeing.”
People with dementia often have poor sleep patterns
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Forever Surrey 2019
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