Smart D8 Pilot Call Winners 2023
Smart D4 has unveiled four new pilot schemes after it reviewed applications for possible schemes aimed at promoting health and well-being. There were over 60 applicants from public and private organisations.
The four chosen projects will focus on menopause, physical rehabilitation, exercise and sleep apnea. These will receive joint funding of €50,000 to advance their work.
Menopause And The City
Menopause and the city seeks to educate people about menopausal health for individuals and their families. It is being led by Dr Louise Fitzgerald of Grafton Medical Practice and she is seeking a city-wide approach to positive menopause education and support.
Brace
Brace is a new app developed to assist patients in their physical rehabilitation. It uses gamification and exercise tracking to motivate patients in their recovery, increasing engagement as studies have found sometimes up to fifty per cent of patients do not complete their rehabilitation programs for a variety of reasons. It’s hoped that the app will help people track their progress better and take some of the pressure off recovery by making it fun. The app is focused on community support.
Move Ahead
Move Ahead is a very interesting scheme as it is a motion and movement tracking program that uses analytics to measure physical activity in children. The scheme is based on data which has found children’s movement skills are actually deteriorating as they use screens more often in their lives.
Recently I noticed I was spending so much time looking at screens that I would actually need an app to even measure the extent of the usage.
This project then, will be very interesting to follow, because I would argue we are all in denial to some extent about the amount of screen time children are spending right now, and the true effect on pathways in the brain will probably take years to figure out. Move Ahead is being led by Dr Jamie McGann and Dr Johann Issartel.
Obstructive Street Apnea (OSA) Identifier
Obstructive Street Apnea (OSA) Identifier is aimed at cutting down on waiting times for a diagnosis of sleep apnea, a condition which affects many of us without our knowing it. Sleep apnea is an often unnoticed but potentially dangerous condition where breathing stops while a person is sleeping.
It can be due to a variety of causes including obesity, tonsillitis or hormone problems. OSA identifier will be a way to collect data for review by specialists, leading to quicker diagnosis, as patients often need to come in to be measured for the condition overnight at the moment. It is being led by Dr Brian Kent and St James Hospital.
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