Dr. Astell and colleagues named as semi-finalists in the Longitude Prize on Dementia.
The Longitude Prize on Dementia is a £4 million prize funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works. It aims to drive the creation of personalized, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them live independent, more fulfilled lives and enabling them to do the things they enjoy.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Arlene Astell and colleagues have been selected as one of 24 semi-finalists for the Prize for their work on CUE-D. The team will now work alongside people living with dementia and their carers to ensure technologies are intuitive, easy-to-use and able to adapt to their changing needs.
Dr. Arlene Astell, project lead
The project:
CUE-D is a cueing system co-created with individuals living with dementia to maintain independence in daily activities. The CUE-D team led by Dr. Arlene Astell, have worked closely with individuals living with dementia over several years, to understand their difficulties with daily activities inside and outside the home. The result is an intuitive cueing system to support independence and adapt to the changing needs of individuals living with dementia over time.
Dr, Arlene Astell, said: “We are honoured and excited to receive a Longitude Prize Discovery Award to continue our work towards scaling and commercialization of CUE-D.”
About the Competition
The competition itself has also been co-designed with people living with dementia. Judges were advised in their decision making by the prizes Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP).
Trevor Salomon, whose wife Yvonne was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2013, is Chair of the Longitude Prize on Dementia’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel. The group – which includes people living with dementia, carers and former carers – has steered the design of the prize, as well as the judging and assessment processes.
Trevor said: “Before her diagnosis, my wife astonished everyone with her ability to do anything she set her mind to. She was an amazing cook, gardener, and there was nothing she couldn’t make or repair on her sewing machine.
“If we could access technologies that help extend her independence and her enjoyment of those pastimes, it would be so worthwhile. So I’m really impressed by the innovative thinking and creativity of the Discovery Award winners. Advances in AI could lead to new technologies that would be transformative for people like my wife – but they need to be easy to use, intuitive and adapt to the unique needs of each person. Technologies shouldn’t be developed in a bubble; they need to be designed and tested by the people who will ultimately benefit from them."
In 2024, five finalists will progress with additional £1.5m in funding to build real-world prototypes. In total, more than £3 million will be awarded in seed funding and development grants with a £1 million first prize to be awarded in 2026.
In addition, wider expert non-financial support has been funded to provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise in the next three years, such as access to data, specialist facilities, collaborations with people living with dementia and expert advice on technical and business aspects of the innovation and to facilitate knowledge sharing between participants.
To find out more about the Longitude Prize on Dementia and the 24 Discovery Award winners progressing to the semi-finals of the prize, visit the website.