€12m project to support independent living
Telecare provider Tunstall is heading up a €12 million telecare
project aimed at supporting older people in their own homes.
The partly EU-funded programme, called SOPRANO (Service Orientated
Programmable Smart Environments for Older Europeans), aims to develop
affordable, smart-IT-based assisted-living services to promote
independence in older people, improving quality of life.
The project, which will run over 3˝ years, combines the expertise of
over 20 partners from six European countries, including university
research institutes, public bodies and industry experts, and will
demonstrate how telecare technology, IT and mobile communications can be
harnessed to develop new community-based models of care.
The research will seek to develop new ways of employing assistive
technology, telecare and telehealth solutions in users’ homes. It will
also investigate the motor, sensory and cognitive difficulties
experienced by many older people and explore the most effective vision,
voice or sensory-based means of communicating with users.
“Against a background of accelerating demographic ageing across
Europe, the latest telecare and telehealth solutions will play a pivotal
role in helping relieve some of the growing pressure on healthcare
providers”, said Mike Hodges, Research and Development Director at
Yorkshire-based Tunstall.
Source: bjhc&im March 2007
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