January 29, 2013
The collaboration behind the “Guardian Angels for a Smarter Life” project, one of four finalists in the European Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship Initiative, will live on thanks to continued support from each of the partner institutions, it has been announced today.
The highly anticipated announcement of which two projects would receive massive research grants up to one billion euros from the European Commission was announced this morning, with EU Vice-President Neelie Kroes introducing the Human Brain Project and Graphene as winners of the initiative. These two Flagships were chosen from a shortlist of six, following a two-year contest, by a panel of experts including leading scientists, professors, Nobel prize winners, and industrialists.
Following the EU announcement, 58 of the original 66 project partners have confirmed their intention to continue the Guardian Angels Consortium.
Anticipating a rise in healthcare delivery costs and an aging population the consortium, including Aridhia, will work together to create private, secure Guardian Angels’ systems for the international market which will offer instant availability of relevant information and interconnectivity between devices fitted with all sorts of sensors, with an awareness of the context of activity of these individuals.
Aridhia’s expertise in the integration of chronic disease healthcare data and its reuse in clinically meaningful formats made the company a natural partner within the consortium. Working within the Physical Guardian Angels demonstrator workstream, Aridhia will contribute to the aim of creating electronic personal companions which will have the capacity to monitor the physical status of individuals in healthcare.
With a strong emphasis on prevention and diagnosis, it is anticipated that the devices will be used to monitor a variety of clinical conditions, particularly the non-communicable diseases, and will therefore have maximum impact on the delivery of healthcare in the future.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to join forces with some of the leading academic institutions, research organisations and technology companies to address crucial social issues, including those healthcare problems that Europe will face in the future as the prevalence of chronic diseases continues to rise,” said Dr David Sibbald, Chairman and CEO of Aridhia.
“This level of collaboration is unprecedented and will allow us to develop visionary technologies which could have a major impact on the lives of people across Europe and further afield. By combining Aridhia’s existing informatics solutions and clinical expertise with the Consortium’s experience in research, development and nanotechnology, we can provide a unique opportunity for healthcare professionals to support the monitoring of people with chronic diseases in real-time and support overall improvement of control, with a reduction in the deadly complications of diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer.”
To find out more about the Future and Emerging Technologies programme, the FET Flagships initiatives or FET’s impact on research in the EU, please visit the European Commission’s FET Flagships FAQs.
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