Longitude Prize on Dementia partners with LSE to judge tech finalists
Five new technology products aimed at improving the lives of people living with dementia stand to win prize of £4.4m
High-tech glasses that help people recognise objects and football pitch sensor technology that can predict and prevent falls are among the innovative new technologies vying for a prestigious prize.
Photo by ThisisEngineering
The Longitude Prize on Dementia aims to incentivise and reward the development of AI technologies that will help people living with dementia. While the overall winner will receive £1m, semi-finalists and finalists have already received funding and expert support to further develop their products. The hope is to encourage a whole host of technological advances, with wide-ranging benefits.
To assess the merits of the five finalists, Challenge Works, the organisation responsible for delivering the initiative, has joined forces with experts from the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Specialists in health and social care at CPEC will work with Challenge Work to assess the technologies and evaluate such matters as development process, the impact on quality of life and what, if any, further resources might improve the products. A report will be published towards the end fo the year.
The CPEC team will also provide independent analysis to two panels that are key to the final decision on a winner. The Lived-Experience Advisory Panel comprises people who have lived experience of dementia, including those living dementia as well as carers and former carers. There is also a Judging Panel to make the final choice.
Funding for CPEC’s work on this has been provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The prize money for the Longitude Prize on Dementia comes from through a partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK.
In total, the prize fund is £4.42m. The 24 semi-finalists announced in June 2023 each received £80,000 and a package of expert support to enable the further development of their work. The five finalists announced in October 2024 received a further £300,000 and further expert support. They now have until November this year to develop their products. A winner will be announced early next year.
Caroline Purslow, Head of Global Health at Challenge Works, says: ‘These five groundbreaking technologies have been designed to help people living with dementia maintain independence in their home and continue their day-to-day activities. The researchers supporting the prize have significant experience in advanced, evidence-based methods for measuring the impact of health and social care-focused technologies. Their input to the prize and assessment of the solutions will be crucial.’
Martin Knapp, Professor of Health and Social Care Policy at LSE, adds: ‘Advanced assistive technology holds immense potential in revolutionising the lives of people with dementia. Using the best possible evaluation process for this prize, in collaboration with colleagues at Challenge Works and the finalists themselves, we can help ensure these products can make a real difference.’
Visit the Longitude Prize on Dementia website for more information about the initiative and its five finalists.
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