A Belfast-based age-tech innovator has successfully been selected for the Homes for Healthy Ageing programme – a scheme designed to showcase the most innovative solutions to healthy ageing challenges.
Kraydel, dedicated to building and improving resilience as people age through its impressive Konnect device, was one of twelve technology companies to be enlisted on to Connected Places Catapult’s Homes for Healthy Ageing programme.
The Connected Places Catapult is the UK government’s innovation agency for cities, transport and place leadership. Its Homes for Healthy Ageing programme demonstrates the role that innovation, collaboration, and a human-centred approach can play in accelerating the development of healthy, age-friendly homes.
The programme, in partnership with the University of Brighton and Brighton & Hove City Council, focuses on helping unpaid carers as recent research from Carersweek.org found that:
- 10.58 million people in the UK are estimated to be unpaid carers
- 4.87 million unpaid carers worry about the impact of caring on their physical and mental health
- 2.2 million unpaid carers worry about their ability to cope financially because they’re caring
Kraydel aims to address issues faced by unpaid carers by continually developing the Konnect device to aid its ability to facilitate remote care for older adults. The TV-integrated wellbeing system offers reassurance and peace of mind to caregivers that a loved one can be monitored and reached through a simple to use device. The ability to check in remotely allows caregivers to undertake paid employment elsewhere and save on travel time and fuel costs.
To put the programme into practice, Connected Places Catapult developed a real-world testing framework. It recruited ten carers and their loved ones from the Brighton area, with the aim to select a wide variety of caring situations, including where a caregiver lives some distance from the loved one. Participants will be surveyed at the beginning, mid-point and end of the testbed to establish in which situations Konnect can deliver the most benefits. The final report will be provided in March 2023.
Amer Fasihi, CEO of Kraydel, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Connected Places Catapult and by adopting this innovative and collaborative approach, we can begin to deliver homes and neighbourhoods that not only support the health and wellbeing of older adults but enable them to thrive.
“Once we have the results from the testbed, we can further develop the Konnect device to hone in on different features that support caregivers in specific situations.”
To find out more about Kraydel, please visit: https://www.kraydel.com/konnect.
To find out more about Connected Places Catapult, please visit: https://cp.catapult.org.uk/.