AGE-WELL announces $5 Million in new funding for groundbreaking research to improve the lives of Canadians

TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2015 /CNW/ - AGE-WELL NCE Inc., the Aging Gracefully across Environments using technology to Ensure Well-Being, Engagement and Long Life (AGE-WELL) network, a national research and innovation network, is pleased to announce the launch of its Core Research Program.

25 teams of researchers from across Canada have been funded to conduct cutting-edge research that will directly benefit older adults and caregivers--and the Canadian economy.

AGE-WELL researchers are already at work on robots that can not only prepare meals, but also assist in home care and physical therapy.

There's also funding for projects developing smart wheelchairs and sensor networks that can help improve safety in the home, among many other innovations.

The goal is to find new ways of harnessing and exploiting technology to assist the growing number of older Canadians and caregivers to live full, independent and dignified lives. This $5 million dollar program is AGE-WELL's first major funding initiative.  AGE-WELL's goal is to spur innovation in technology development that will lead to commercially available products and services for today's elderly population.

"These projects are the core of AGE-WELL" said Dr. Alex Mihailidis, Joint Scientific Director of AGE-WELL. "The next step is to support and grow this community to ensure Canada becomes an international leader in the field of technology for seniors."

AGE-WELL research is about more than the development of fancy new gadgets; it also supports projects that explore the impact of new technologies on caregivers and seniors, and includes the users of technologies right in the design process to ensure that the products and services that AGE-WELL develops will be used by the people who need them.

Dr. Andrew Sixsmith, Joint Scientific Director of AGE-WELL added, "No one understands the needs better. Their real life experience will help us deliver supports that can make a real difference."

Technological change inevitably brings new questions and challenges in areas like privacy and ethics.  AGE-WELL is also supporting research to address these issues as well as to explore how public policy can support the growth of new technologies.

Backgrounder #1: Profiling the 25 Core Research Projects; Backgrounder #2: About AGE-WELL: Video: b-roll – http://www.agewell-nce.ca/archives/2977

About AGE-WELL
AGE-WELL NCE Inc. (http://www.agewell-nce.ca/, @AGEWELL_NCE ) is a pan-Canadian network of industry, non-profit organizations, government, care providers, caregivers, end-users, and academic partners working together using high-quality research to drive innovation and create technologies and services that benefit older adults. Our vision is to harness and build upon the potential of emerging and advanced technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), e-health, information communication technologies (ICTs), and mobile technologies to stimulate technological, social, and policy innovation. Toronto Rehab, University Health Network is the AGE-WELL host institution.

SOURCE AGE-WELL

and to arrange interviews with researchers and AGE-WELL spokespeople Dr. Alex Mihailidis and Dr. Andrew Sixsmith, contact: Paul Tyler 416-254-0698, [email protected] or Victoria Ollers 416-822-2288, [email protected]