Wearable technology detecting Alzheimer’s

There has been rapid growth in the market for smart watches and Fitbits. From counting your steps to tracking how much sleep you are getting each night, the metrics we can measure are expanding. Edon (Early detection of Neurodegenerative diseases) is spearheading a project to develop a wearable device to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases. Dementia occurs when the brain is damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. In Alzheimer’s disease, connections between cells are lost, this is due to proteins building up and forming abnormal structures which cause cells to die and brain tissue to be lost.

More than 520,000 people in the UK have dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease and this figure is set to rise. Having the ability to identify the disease at its earlier stages will transform research efforts and give doctors a better chance of stopping the disease before the symptoms start. 5 million volunteers will be used to map the early signs of Alzheimer’s years before the symptoms develop. The wearable technology will collect the following data and look to map signs of the disease at the earlier stages:

• Gait
• Heart rate
• Sleep patterns

Prof Chris Holmes, health programme director at the institute, said: “Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the learning opportunities from large-scale data studies…” The hope is that technology can help predict symptoms and which could lead to better treatments and eventually a cure which is something that all Alzheimer’s sufferers would welcome.

Using artificial intelligence to analyse the data collected from the volunteers will be used towards a prototype design that could be created in the next three years.

How can Cavendish Homecare help?

We know that being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia can have a huge emotional, social, and psychological effect on both the person suffering and their family. At Cavendish Homecare we provide dementia care in the comfort of your own home at all early, middle and late stages of dementia. Supporting you and your family with medication management, activities and superior care.

Our friendly home care team is available to discuss your requirements so give them a call on 020 3008 5210 or via email at info@cavendishhomecare.com.