University of Leicester experts using AI to help people with dementia remain at home

AI experts at the University of Leicester are part of a new £1.97 million project research network aiming to help people with dementia to live independently by intervening with support earlier.

BRIDGES for Dementia, led by the University of Sheffield, is one of four new networks designed to boost the use and development of novel tools and technologies enabling people with dementia to remain independent at home for longer. The networks are being funded by £6 million from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), in partnership with the charity Alzheimer's Society.

The BRIDGES for Dementia network (Building Research Innovation co-Developing Greater Empowerment and Support for people living with Dementia) will build research innovation communities that put empowerment at the heart of supporting people to live life on their own terms. Examples could be tools to support word-finding, platforms to engage with music or the arts, or new intuitive ways to interact in the face to face or online world. The network will encourage the co-design of technologies in four key themes:

• indoor and outdoor spaces
• arts, sports and culture 
• in-person and online communication 
• digital technology development and translation

These themes prioritise tools that enable individuals with dementia to feel agency and in control as they continue to have an active role in a rich daily life, and technologies that open up the world rather than dictate a limited set of activities or interactions.

The University of Leicester team, led by Professor Huiyu Zhou, has developed state-of-the-art AI technologies to enable computers to automatically identify behavioural variations of those with Parkinson’s Disease compared against those who don’t, and has built up years of experience in monitoring for those variations.

Professor Zhou, from the University of Leicester School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, said: “We will deploy these tools with minor modifications for early detection of dementia in patients in their daily life, so we can intervene early and support patients to live independently at all times. The network will co-design tools that enable individuals with dementia to feel agency and in control as they continue to have an active role in a rich daily life."

Dr Jennifer MacRitchie and Professor Su Li at the University of Sheffield lead a transdisciplinary team drawing on expertise in languages and communication, arts and humanities, engineering, human-computer interaction, design, medicine and population health, lived experience, and service delivery. BRIDGES network partners represent expertise across dementia awareness and lived experience, public health service and technology industry, and will facilitate access to communities and professionals.

BRIDGES network lead Dr Jennifer MacRitchie said:

“At the heart of the BRIDGES network is an ambition for technology to better reflect the varied needs for people living with dementia and people who care for them, such that they can live on their own terms and remain an integral part of communities.”

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said:

“Dementia is a major challenge in the UK and globally. As people are living longer, the number of people living with dementia is increasing. 

“With most people wishing to remain at home, we are investing in research that could lead to new technologies and innovations that will help keep people safe and independent. 

“These networks will bring together a wealth of expertise from across academia, healthcare, charities and, crucially, people with lived experience to find solutions that will lead to healthier and more fulfilling lives for those affected by dementia.”

Institutions involved in this project are: 

• The University of Sheffield (Dr MacRitchie, Prof Su Li, Dr Daniel Blackburn, Dr Christian Morgner), 
• Anglia Ruskin University (Dr Ming Hsu), 
• Lancaster University (Dr Joseph Lindley, Dr Roger Whitham), 
• London South Bank University (Prof Hua Zhong), 
• University College London (Prof Tao Cheng), 
• University of Cambridge (Prof Anna Korhonen)
• University of Kent (Dr Giovanni Masala, Prof Jim Ang)
• University of Leicester (Prof Huiyu Zhou) 
• Innovations in Dementia
• Lewy Body Society
• Dementia UK
• Kent County Council
• Sheffield City Council
• Bow (Bettering Our Worlds through Robotics)