UKRI has picked nine researchers for the third Healthy Ageing Catalyst Accelerator, with up to £100,000 each to turn ageing research into products.
The accelerator is delivered by Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) with venture builder Zinc. Each award includes a six-month venture-building programme.
Projects span safety, self-management and workplace health. Highlights include:
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Lisa Riste (NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Collaboration): a visual alert system in community pharmacies to cut medication errors and improve access for people with sight loss.
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Paul Bentley (Imperial College London): a wearable giving real-time feedback on core muscle activity to support fitness, rehabilitation and back-pain self-management.
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Ilhem Berrou (University of the West of England): a digital platform linking people to community organisations providing local health and social care support.
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Wendy Anne Loretto (University of Edinburgh): an AI tool to help older employees reflect on health at work and connect to employer resources.
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Laura Wilkinson (Swansea University): applying consumer psychology to help small food manufacturers create sustainable, healthy products for older consumers.
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Katherine Wang (University College London): a wearable for lymphoedema self-management. Lymphoedema is swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid.
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Suzanne Eldridge (Queen Mary University, London): a regenerative treatment to address cartilage loss and prevent osteoarthritis. Regenerative treatments aim to repair or regrow tissues.
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Sophie Richter (Imperial College London): adaptive wearable patches to aid recovery, relieve pain and support movement in hand and wrist conditions.
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Tot Foster (University of Bristol): multi-sensory travel-themed activity boxes to reduce isolation and build confidence.
The programme builds on the UK Research and Innovation Healthy Ageing Challenge and aims to translate academic work into scalable products and services.