New research to create tech to help dementia patients manage memory loss and communication
People with dementia are set to benefit from UK Government-backed research designed to help them live more independently in their own homes.
Four new research networks led by the UK’s top researchers, developers, and health and social care professionals will focus on creating technologies to help dementia patients manage memory loss, communication difficulties, and cope better with everyday tasks, in the hope of slowing the progress of the disease and maximising the time they can spend safely and happily at home.
The teams will work alongside people with dementia and carers to ensure lived experience and changing needs are at the heart of innovation, delivering the government’s Plan for Change to shift healthcare from hospitals into the community, with better results for patients while also reducing pressure on the NHS.
The four successful networks include the University of Sheffield which will develop technologies to help dementia patients communicate as their disease progresses, supporting speech and memory challenges. Heriot-Watt University will develop technology to anticipate and, where possible, slow progression of dementia patients’ symptoms.
Northumbria University will develop local hubs in rural and remote areas, where dementia patients can access technology to help them with everyday tasks. Imperial College London will develop easily used tools to support independent living and use AI to support data analytics.
The networks will also collaborate with a range of key partners, including the NHS, Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and councils, to deliver the projects, ensuring expertise at all levels is consulted on and helping to develop the best outcome.
The projects are being backed by government, with the Minister of State for Health unveiling £6.7 million in funding recently at the World Dementia Council Summit on 25 March 2025.
Additionally, the networks are funded by £6.7 million from the UK Research and Innovation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society.
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and Chief Executive Officer of NIHR, said: “By developing networks and technologies that help people living with dementia stay independent for longer, and closer to home, we can help improve the quality of care that patients and their families receive.
“I welcome this collaboration which will increase the range of support enabling dementia patients to live independently at home and in their communities and freeing up vital time and resource for other areas of treatment and care.
According to an Alzheimer’s Society survey, 85 percent of people have said they would prefer to stay in their own home for as long as possible if diagnosed with dementia, but many are currently unable to do so.
It is hoped these projects will help slow the progression of the disease and provide a better quality of life for people with dementia, to help people out of hospital and back into the community, where they are most comfortable.
Professor David Sharp at Imperial College London and Director of the Care Research and Technology Centre at the UK Dementia Research Institute commented: “This is a really exciting opportunity that will bring together UK scientists and partners from health and social care, industry, third sector and lived experience, to develop new technologies that will help people affected by dementia to live independently for as long as possible.”
Care England recently responded to the Alzheimer’s Society report, which revealed while the number of people with dementia continues to rise, the level of specialist training among care staff has not kept pace with this increasing demand.