New network set up to help assisted living products to market

The Assisted Living Action Network has been launched in the UK to bring together business, healthcare professionals, service user groups and academic researchers to looking to target the £1.5 billion UK market for products and services to support the ageing population.

The network will provide a forum to discuss the key issues, identify the business challenges and collaborate to transform technology to support assisted living to the market.

The UK has more people over 60 than under the age of 18 and within twenty years around a third of the population will be over 60 years old. This demographic shift will bring increasing healthcare demands in its wake, particularly for the management of chronic conditions, such as dementia, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

The Assisted Living Action Network, launched at Bath University’s Innovation Centre, is supported by the Bath Ventures, Bath NHS Research and Development and Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME).

BIME is currently involved in a £341,000 project which is investigating the implications of smart electricity meters for people living in sheltered housing or in remote locations. Nigel Harris, Director of BIME, said, “As a charity our aim is to make a difference to the quality of life for people with disabilities and health problems, the Assisted Living Action Network is a really good opportunity to bring together a whole range of people working in this area with new technology.”