TechCrunch features the a2 Pilot Awards
A TechCrunch released an article today on the a2 Pilot Awards and the a2 Collective, of which MassAITC is one of three member centers. Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/09/a2-pilot-awards/.
Year 1 MassAITC pilot projects announced
The first cohort of seven MassAITC pilot projects has been announced. Details for the selected MassAITC projects are available here: https://massaitc.org/year1-pilots/. The list of selected pilot projects is also included below. The full MassAITC press release is available here. The next MassAITC pilot project competition is expected to open in May 2023. See the a2 Pilot Awards website for more details on the next pilot competition as well as the list of all Year 1 pilot projects funded by the a2 Collective centers. Testing a vocal biomarker platform for remote detection and monitoring of cognitive impairment in the home environment Erik Larsen (Sonde Health Inc.), Bradford Dickerson, Bonnie Wang (Massachusetts General Hospital) Developing real-world digital biomarkers from wearable sensors in Alzheimer’s disease, Jen Blankenship (VivoSense Inc.), Michael Busa (UMass Amherst) Vascular aging using infrasonic hemodynography…
Early acute illness detection in delirium and dementia
Jane Saczynski, Northeastern University. Edward Marcantonio, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Acute illness presents in the most vulnerable organ in the body, among patients with dementia that organ is the brain and acute illness often presents first as delirium, an acute confusional state. This project will evaluate home monitoring devices as early indicators of acute illness in persons with dementia.
Vascular aging using infrasonic hemodynography embedded into everyday earbuds
Anna Barnacka, MindMics Inc. This project will collect data for building and validating algorithms for analytics of vascular aging using Infrasonic Hemodynography with wearable earphones (the MindMics device).
Smartphone blood pressure monitoring for healthy aging
Edward Jay Wang, UCSD. Given the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension and additional challenges in the older adult population, it is essential that measurement of BP be done easily and accurately. This project will develop an ultra low cost approach to converting the billions of smartphone cameras, even the cheapest ones, into blood pressure monitors that can be used by older adults at home.
Detecting frailty in home environments through non-invasive whole room body heat sensing in older adults
Amanda Paluch, UMass Amherst. Dae Hyun Kim, Hebrew SeniorLife. Rags Gupta, Butlr Technologies Inc. This project will develop a contactless in-home assessment tool for frailty using body heat sensing technology. The ceiling or wall-mounted heat sensors, developed by butlr Technologies, will measure real-time movement of free-living people without jeopardizing privacy.
Sensor-guided psychopharmacology in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
Ipsit Vahia, McLean Hospital. Rachel Sava, McLean Hospital. Appropriate and personalized pharmacologic management of behavioral and psychologic symptoms in dementia (BPSD) is among the most complex clinical challenges in dementia care. This project will will pilot an AI-guided approach using Garmin wearable sensors that can generate real-time objective data from patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementias (ADRD) being treated for BPSD in McLean’s Geriatric Psychiatry Outpatient Program.