Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Program with an economic endowment of six million euros, the Geriatrics Service of the Integrated Care Administration of Albacete del Sescam together with UCLM co-lead the clinical part of a health technology and innovation research project entitled Carepath, awarded in 2021 and purpose It is to improve the quality of life of the elderly with cognitive impairment or mild dementia and other chronic diseases, in order to reduce health resources, visits to hospital specialists, emergency situations and stay with good medical care. as long as possible in their homes.
The head of the Geriatrics Service of the GAI in Albacete, Dr. Pedro Abizanda, who was traveling to Germany yesterday to meet the rest of those responsible for this project, where, in addition to Spain (via Sescam), Switzerland, Turkey, Romania, Germany and the United Kingdom, and 10 partners (in The case of Spain is UCLM, specifically, the Department of Economics and Finance directed by Professor Juan Oliva) make up the Consortium. Only for the part of this study that will be carried out by a team of specialists from the Albacete Geriatric Service led by Dr. Abizanda, funding is half a million euros.
Midway. The development of this project is located in Ecuador, which had a very technological first stage, which was developed by specialized technicians from the partner companies and universities of the consortium, which consists of developing a technological platform based on the first two years of this project. Information and communication technologies for the management of elderly people with cognitive impairment or mild dementia who also suffer from other chronic diseases (multiple diseases). This platform consists of a powerful computer program with many modules to assist in decision-making, which also houses sensors and medical monitors in the homes of participating users so that all this information reaches the doctor in his office and helps him make it clinical. Make decisions with these complex patients.
The journey started yesterday by a team of specialists from the Albacete Aging Service responsible for participating in this project, specifically aimed at training and learning how to use the technological platform.
A meeting that would also initiate the two Albacete-led clinical studies, the purpose of which is nothing more than to test and see if this designed computer program helps improve the quality of life of patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment who also have other associated comorbidities. This first pre-clinical phase will start in just a month, with very few patients, four per participating center,” which will allow us to check if these seniors are able to use the designed technology platform system, and that the system works well and works. well. It does not cause technical problems in its use, ”added Dr. Pedro Abizanda, who indicated that this phase of the trial and validation of the clinical part of the project will continue until September. The clinical study will begin on October 1 with the participation of 224 volunteers recruited through four hospitals (University Hospital Complex in Albacete; Warwick Hospital in the UK; Bielefeld Clinic in Germany and Clinical Memory Unit in Bucharest, Romania) to see if the designed device is effective.
To do this, each hospital center will recruit 56 volunteer patients, half of whom will use the technological device while the other 23 will not, that is, they will continue the healthcare provided by the different medical professionals who are being monitored. To install this technology in each home, an engineer will be assigned who will be responsible for supporting each patient, who will use this monitoring system for a whole year, “and will be in direct contact with the Geriatric Service at Perpetuo University Hospital Socorro, we who will take care of the clinical support.”
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