AGE-WELL announces $5 Million in new funding for groundbreaking research to improve the lives of Canadians
25 teams of researchers from across Canada have been funded to conduct cutting-edge research that will directly benefit older adults and caregivers–and the Canadian economy.
AGE-WELL researchers are already at work on robots that can not only prepare meals, but also assist in home care and physical therapy.
There’s also funding for projects developing smart wheelchairs and sensor networks that can help improve safety in the home, among many other innovations.
The goal is to find new ways of harnessing and exploiting technology to assist the growing number of older Canadians and caregivers to live full, independent and dignified lives. This $5 million dollar program is AGE-WELL’s first major funding initiative. AGE-WELL’s goal is to spur innovation in technology development that will lead to commercially available products and services for today’s elderly population.
“These projects are the core of AGE-WELL” said Dr. Alex Mihailidis, Joint Scientific Director of AGE-WELL. “The next step is to support and grow this community to ensure Canada becomes an international leader in the field of technology for seniors.”
AGE-WELL research is about more than the development of fancy new gadgets; it also supports projects that explore the impact of new technologies on caregivers and seniors, and includes the users of technologies right in the design process to ensure that the products and services that AGE-WELL develops will be used by the people who need them.
Dr. Andrew Sixsmith, Joint Scientific Director of AGE-WELL added, “No one understands the needs better. Their real life experience will help us deliver supports that can make a real difference.”
Technological change inevitably brings new questions and challenges in areas like privacy and ethics. AGE-WELL is also supporting research to address these issues as well as to explore how public policy can support the growth of new technologies.
Applied Health Sciences investigators
Researchers in the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Applied Health Sciences are involved in the following AGE-WELL projects:
PRI-TECH: Policy and Regulatory Issues in Enabling Technological Innovation
This project will examine current policy and regulatory frameworks and developments that are relevant to the licensing, approval, regulation, reimbursement and evaluation of new technologies and innovations resulting from AGE-WELL. The development of new technologies demands a new evaluation of the questions they provoke. For example, should “smart systems” used for remote health monitoring be regulated in the same fashion as medical devices? Should payment for these systems be the responsibility of health authorities, insurance companies, or consumers? Recommendations will be made for how innovation in health technologies for older adults can be accommodated and stimulated within existing policy and regulatory frameworks, as well as how these frameworks might be modified to support safe adoption of promising and effective technologies.
Project Leads: Don Juzwishin, Alberta Health Services; Paul Stolee, University of Waterloo
3DHC: Data-Driven Decision-making in Healthcare
The provision of health care is moving increasingly from hospitals to the community and home. It is not only cheaper, but provides a more attractive quality of life for older adults. The objective of this project is to develop and prove the feasibility of home health monitoring and data-driven decision making systems. Recent advances in mobile devices, sensor technology, cloud computing, telecommunications and Big Data analytics can empower older adults and their caregivers to continuously monitor their health. This project will target pressure ulcers as a pilot application but will also pursue other suitable applications.
Project
Leads:
Joon
Lee,
University
of
Waterloo;
John
Hirdes,
University
of
Waterloo;
Co-Investigators:
George
Heckman,
University
of
Waterloo;
James
Tung,
University
of
Waterloo;
Jim
Wallace,
University
of
Waterloo;
Mu
Zhu,
University
of
Waterloo
IIES-PHYS: An In-home Intelligent Exercise System for Physical Rehabilitation, Enhancing Musculoskeletal Function, and Preventing Adverse Events
Having easy and frequent access to supervised and well-planned therapy for sensory and motor functions can help ensure the long-term health of older adults. This project will develop technologies that can be used for delivering appropriate, individualized rehabilitation and exercise programs. Two separate approaches are proposed: one that provides frequent, less intense regimes for in home use and the other that provides less frequent but more intense regimes for use under the guidance of a therapist in a rehabilitation or community centre setting.
Project
Leads:
Rajni
Patel,
Western
University;
Mandar
Jog,
Western
University;
Co-Investigators:
Christian
Duval,
Université
du
Québec;
James
Frank,
University
of
Waterloo;
Robert
Teasell,
Western
University