Home-based technology for dementia care

It is estimated there are 50 million people on the planet living with dementia today, a number the World Health Organisation predicts will treble over the next 30 years as average life spans increase. The issue has been described as a time bomb – the biggest healthcare challenge of the 21st century. Although there is no known cure for the disease, technology is playing an increasingly important role in helping people live with dementia, particularly in their own homes.

“Dementia is now the biggest killer in the UK,” said Prof David Sharp, a neurologist at Imperial College London and head of a new £20m dementia research centre. Located at Imperial’s West London campus near White City, the facility will apply AI, robotics, sensors and software to create dementia-friendly homes when it opens in June this year.

“We’ve got 850,000 people living with dementia today,” Sharp told media at a recent event to launch the centre. “We’ve got an ageing population. By 2050, we’re going to have about two million people living with dementia.