The acceleration in the aging population of the United States, now exceeding 55 million as of 2020, necessitates technological advancements for aiding those diagnosed with dementia-related conditions like Alzheimer's. The Massachusetts AI and Technology Center for Connected Care in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (MassAITC), launched in November 2021 with a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, strives to address this need. The center has been fostering partnerships and sponsoring pilot projects to create practical solutions for the aging population.
Bearing the mantle of a technology accelerator, to help underpin the technologies, MassAITC aims directly impact healthy aging or significantly improve lives of those preserving through Alzheimer's disease. As UMass states, the center supports interdisciplinary collaborations between domain-experts and companies while providing input on real-life studies involving wearable and passive sensors, in conjunction with machine learning applications.
Till date, two series of pilot projects funding have been rolled out by the center, with research teams delving into areas such as fall risk and general physical functioning, the prediction of cognitive decline, improving dementia care, sleep and circadian rhythms, and cardiovascular health. UMass reports, that users and stakeholders heavily involve themselves in these studies to ensure the emerging technologies comply with usability and privacy concerns, among other factors.
A standout project funded by MassAITC focuses on developing a tool for remote in-home frailty assessment of patients. Leveraging body heat-sensing technology, signs of frailty can be passively detected, offering caregivers and healthcare professionals a non-invasive method for conducting check-ups of elderly persons from the comfort of their homes. In the case of another pilot project, as noted in the UMass report, Alzheimer's patients walking behavior is captured in the real world using wearable activity sensing technologies, showing promise for potential future clinical trials.
Furthermore, MassAITC serves in the capacity of a matchmaker by linking clinicians, researchers, and start-ups with similar aims. Through these powerful collaborations, the field of aging and AI technologies is primed for groundbreaking developments. Jen Blankenship, a UMass alumna and Senior Research Scientist at VivoSense, agrees to the invaluable nature of such academia-industry partnerships.
At a time when a rapidly aging populace needs help the most, MassAITC offers hope through its pursuit of AI innovation designed to enhance independence and quality of life for older adults. The rise of AgeTech indicates that centers like MassAITC, collaborating with a vast range of stakeholders, are taking the issues surrounding an aging populace into their own hands and innovating technologies capable of significantly improving the lives of elderly citizens across the nation.
