The National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) has invested nearly £11m of funding to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.
The funding will also help to identify people most at risk of developing the condition, which affects nearly one million people across the UK.
Dementia has become one of the most important health and social care challenges facing the world, and improving treatment for the condition is a top priority for both the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care and for the NIHR.
Prioritised funding for dementia
The new research has been supported by NIHR’s Invention for Innovation funding programme (i4i) through a funding call focused on dementia, which funded six projects from multidisciplinary research groups.
Funded projects include research to spot the early signs of dementia using a huge range of innovative tests. Researchers are investigating tests including spatial awareness, image recognition, hearing tests, and monitoring sleep disturbances.
The money allocated to these new projects is a substantial boost for research funding into the dementia. The projects will start in early 2023, and can last up to five years, to provide time to support further development of digital biomarkers for dementia.
Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR CEO, said: “New technologies have the potential to radically transform healthcare for the future. Improving methods for treating and living with dementia is work of vital public interest.
“These studies will also support the dementia healthcare mission in the Life Science Vision, as we look for new ways of understanding whether drugs are working by using digital biomarkers.
“Such significant investment in these important projects shows that the UK is at the cutting edge of research into one of the most pressing health and care issues of our time.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “New technologies are helping to ensure that people are diagnosed sooner, treated faster and have the best possible care. These projects are developing reliable ways to detect dementia earlier through new technology such as a sensor that fits under a mattress to monitor changes in sleep patterns.
“We have already committed to doubling dementia research funding to £160m a year by 2024/25, on top of announcing our new Major Conditions Strategy that will set out actions across multiple conditions, including dementia, mental health, cancer, and health disparities. This will make sure work across these areas is joined up, alleviates pressure on the health system and supports people to live healthier lives for longer.”
Professor Mike Lewis, i4i Programme Director and NIHR Scientific Director of Innovation, added: “Tackling the challenge of dementia needs fresh new approaches and that’s exactly what this funding call was intended to catalyse. We’re really excited to see the potential of these technologies to transform the way this devastating disease is detected and diagnosed, to bring hope to people with the condition and their families.”
