July 2016

AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize Finalists – Memrica App helps people living with early dementia make the most of each day New app Prompt provides visual diary and reminder system to help boost confidence Dementia is one of the biggest health challenges facing the world today with 44 million people living with the disease worldwide. However, in the early stages, when people are still active, they can have a great quality of life with the right support. UK company Memrica has worked with people living with the early stage of the disease, their families and clinicians to create Prompt, a service that aims to reduce the anxiety about forgetting, which impacts social confidence and independence. An app provides a visual...Read More

AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize Finalists – Kemuri Smart power socket monitors wellbeing in older adults Kemuri helps older people retain independence with smart socket that monitors user activity and relays data to family and carers It’s a fact of life that people decline in their old age and that accidents and illness may go undetected for days, or even weeks.  You want to know that your loved ones are safe, healthy and active every day.  Are vulnerable older people keeping warm, eating, drinking and moving around as normal? With families now widely dispersed, it isn’t easy to make daily visits to check on wellbeing and take immediate action in emergencies. Often older people are in denial about the risks...Read More

The ageing population of Europe has been seen as a crisis by many as the rising costs of long term care and the challenges that affect the daily lives of older adults put more and more pressure on society. However, the power of technology is now helping to give independence back to older adults, and demand for solutions that improve quality of life for them and their carers is soaring. So, is this really a crisis, or is it an opportunity to help integrate people into society for longer while simultaneously nurturing a new market that can help boost the economy? Populations around the world are ageing. This long-term trend began several decades ago in Europe due to increased life expectancy and...Read More

  The ageing population of Europe has been seen as a crisis to many as the rising costs of long term care and the challenges that affect the daily lives of older adults put more and more pressure on society. However, the power of technology is now helping to give independence back to older adults, and demand for solutions that improve quality of life for them and their carers is soaring. So, is this really a crisis, or is it an opportunity to help integrate people into society for longer and improve the well-being of older adults in Europe?   Populations around the world are ageing. This long-term trend began several decades ago in Europe due to increased life expectancy and declining...Read More

AAL to present at the 10th WDA Forum in St. Gallen The composition of the world’s population is changing fast. The megatrend of demographic change is the most critical to face our planet this century. The AAL Programme exists to help provide solutions to the challenges that this change presents. This year St. Gallen will be hosting, as well as the AAL Forum, the 10th World Demographic and Ageing (WDA) Forum. The conference will outline the many factors that will significantly influence the ongoing and irreversible changes to the global population dynamics of the 21st century. Leading experts from across the globe will be debating and sharing pressing topics such as migration, low-interest environment, economic innovations in mobility, communication, employment,...Read More

AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize Finalists – Flux Young Scottish designer shortlisted for major award that celebrates technology whioductionch helps older adults maintain independence Rachael Johnston of Glasgow has created a simple video chat device for the elderly that doubles as a family photograph which fades over time since the last call Older people are especially vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation, which can have a significant impact on health. Communication via tablets, phones and personal computers would appear to offer the perfect solution to this big problem, but using such devices is often a challenge for those who have not grown up with them. Now, a young Scottish designer has come up with an ingeniously simple device that bridges...Read More

An idea that took root in a nursing home called Witte Meren in Mol in Belgium has been shortlisted to receive the AAL Smart AGeing Challenge Prize. What began as a vision in the mind of Witte Meren’s director Jan Smolders on how to keep his inhabitants physically active in a safe, motivating and fun environment may now be on the verge of international breakthrough. Jan’s brother Roel, who was working as a health technology expert at the Flemish Institute of Technological Research, took an interest in the project and the two siblings teamed up. When Wannes Meert and Jesse Davis joined the group, Activ84Health was born. Activ84Health develops technology that offers older people who can no longer get out and...Read More