Technology & Dementia: Resources for Research and Patient Care

Last week, researchers from across the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual Alzheimer's Association International Conference. The team from the ADDF was there to discuss recent findings in drug discovery and prevention research and meet with our grantees and partners.

The conference featured a section on Technology and Dementia, with discussions on how emerging technologies could revolutionize research and patient care. Our takeaways follow:

• Maria Norton discussed how Gray Matters smartphone app has helped people make lifestyle changes to protect their brains from Alzheimer’s. The app was developed by researchers from Utah State University and Ulster University in Belfast.  
• In Canada, a variety of resources are now available to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop technologies to support healthy aging, as highlighted by Alex Mihailidis from AgeWell. A program from Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada is aligning with the investment community to foster economic growth while improving patient care and research.
• "Big Data" for dementia research will get a boost from new informatics platforms capable of connecting diverse data from multiple sources. Johannes Streffer presented on the European Medicines Informatics Framework (EMIF) and Scott Neu presented on the Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive (GAAIN).
• Ian Cleland from the University of Ulster and Jeffrey Kaye from Oregon Health and Science University discussed how researchers might track patients’ health, well-being, and cognition using technologies embedded (with permission) in their home or clothing. Such technologies can help patients and researchers work together to get to a cure faster.

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