Research group of health care (GRECS) of the IRBLleida and the UdL participates in a European project to develop technologies for people with dependency

Research group of health care (GRECS) of the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida) and the University of Lleida (UdL) participates in a European project to develop new generation technologies that provide monitoring solutions for people with dependency, such as people with decreased functional abilities due to age, frailty or increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or people involved in sports activities. These sensors will allow to measure and control the parameters of people's health, behavior and daily activities and, therefore, offer them safe, reliable and proactive solutions for their health.

'Next Perception. Next generation smart perception sensors and distributed intelligence for proactive human monitoring in health, wellbeing, and automotive systems' is the name of the projecte with 43 partners from Europe, 7 of them are from Spain: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), la Universidad de Vigo, Acorde Technologies, Evotel Informatica SI, Hi Iberia, Seven Solutions and the IRBLleida. VTT TEchnical Research Centre of Finland is the coordinator. The Lleida Research Group is made up of professionals Montserrat Gea, Gerard Piñol, Esther Rubinat, Mariona Rocaspana, Helena Fernández and Carol Climent.

"This project will allow for the first time to use intelligent perception sensors in older people. These are little bothersome sensors with a technology that allows remote detection of vital signs, both in treatment facilities and in domestic environments, which allow monitoring without the need for any portable equipment, "explained researcher Montserrat Gea.

The project, with a total budget of € 168,077.88, lasts for three years. It is financed by the European call ECSEL H2020, which manages a research and innovation program to strengthen the sector of electronic components and systems in the European Union.

The Lleida Group will be in charge of evaluating the sensors by healthcare professionals. Thanks to this assessment, it will support its design and provide a return on its usability, performance measures, robustness and development feasibility.The group relies on the collaboration of patients and their caregivers, health organizations, and participants in sports and fitness activities for the assessment of wearables. These are discrete sensors that will allow monitoring and detecting small behavioral changes indicative of the development of dementia or frailty, as well as monitoring other aspects related to health, such as sleep quality. This part of the project will start from November 2020.

"This project tries to respond to the growing increase in the elderly population in Europe, as well as the increase in diagnoses of dementia and other cognitive impairments," confirmed researcher Carol Climent.