The Longitude Prize on Dementia is a £4.42 million prize that launched in 2022 to drive the creation of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia. These tools aim to help individuals maintain independent and fulfilling lives for longer. The Prize is funded by Innovate UK, the UK innovation agency, and Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia charity, and delivered by Challenge Works, a global leader in the design and delivery of Challenge Prizes. Twenty four semi-finalists were announced in 2023 with five finalists announced on 8th October 2024. A winner will be announced in 2026.

From October 2024 to June 2025, PUBLIC will work closely with Challenge Works, Digital Care, and other esteemed delivery partners, such as Social Finance to support five global innovator teams in the next phase of the programme. This support will focus on refining their assistive technology solutions and developing commercialisation strategies.

The five finalists, who were announced on BBC One’s The One Show, will each receive £300,000 to develop their technologies in the next 15 months.  The finalists are:

● High-tech glasses that help users recognise objects and people – the technology helps people living with dementia to recognise objects and people and remember what to say or do to improve memory recall. This will help them to carry out daily activities independently, such as making a cup of tea or greeting a loved one. The glasses, which also work with existing prescriptions, aim to delay the progression of memory loss and use synaesthesia - associating senses such as sights and sounds (CrossSense, Animorph, UK).

● Football pitch sensor technology applied to predict and prevent falls ‍– existing ‘fall’ technology can only inform caregivers once an accident has happened, this groundbreaking update will use the technology that maps how a football moves on a pitch (Ultra Wideband) to establish when falls are likely to happen and ultimately prevent them. This tech, in the form of a smartwatch designed for older people, could anticipate slips at certain points in a daily routine (e.g. before bed) or in certain locations (e.g. the bathroom). By detecting and calculating fall risk, the tech could limit risk of hospital admission which can speed dementia symptom progression (Theora 360, Clairvoyant Networks, Inc, USA).

● A smartwatch-based app to provide guidance on daily routines – this AI software processes data from a smartwatch and sensors around the home to learn about its users’ activities and gently guide them on their routines, reminding them of actions they may have forgotten through personalised cues such as illustrations (eg an open fridge or running tap), text, audio and vibrations. If they are not responsive, it will alert a carer. The software will become more intensive as a person’s dementia progresses, helping them to stay in their own home and community for longer (AUTONOMOUS, Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research, Portugal).

● At-home monitoring-box that protects privacy - when a loved one is in the early stages of dementia and is still able to live independently, family members can sometimes worry about their wellbeing. This ‘sensor’ box and automated messaging system scans rooms to help remotely inform family members of the loved one’s wellbeing via Whatsapp or text message (e.g. your mum is up and about and the heating came on at the usual time this morning). This provides reassurance for both family member and user, but unlike existing monitoring technology, doesn’t use cameras or wearables, connecting caregivers without infringing on privacy (Supersense Technologies, UK).

● Home assistance device resembling a traditional telephone – this familiar-looking device offers a screen for video calls which can also display personalised reminders of daily activities. The phone connects users to a reassuring voice-recording of their choice that shares prompts on daily activities and displays images of items in that person’s house. It also makes video-calling loved ones as easy as picking up the phone, to empower people living with dementia to do things they love that bring meaning (MemoryAid, The MARCS Institute at Western Sydney University and Applied Artificial Intelligence at Deakin University).

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Barbara Mendoza, the Programme Manager at Challenge works, shared: “We’re very excited to begin the Finalist phase of the Longitude Prize on Dementia. Our Finalists come from a variety of professional backgrounds and locations, each offering a unique solution. The next fifteen months will be crucial in providing them the support they need to refine their solutions, always ensuring that co-creation with people living with dementia remains at the heart of the process.”

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Ryan Shea, Managing Director, PUBLIC, stated: “As someone from a family impacted by the effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia, I’m honoured to work on this important initiative. The fact is current and future dementia patients and their families are increasingly digitally native, so it is encouraging to see Challenge Works supporting the creation of this market. PUBLIC is excited to be working alongside Digital Care and Challenge Works to deliver an exceptional programme.”

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Jenny Thomas, Director, Digital Care, added: “I’m thrilled to be supporting the five Finalists of Challenge Works’ Longitude Prize on Dementia. It is a condition that sadly affects so many people and will impact so many more of us in the future. Supporting high potential health tech start-ups gives me a lot of joy. I’m really looking forward to drawing on my experience of running accelerators like Digitalhealth.London and helping the finalists to succeed.”

If you would like to learn more about this programme, get in touch with longitudeprize.dementia@challengeworks.org.

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