Enhancing longer living in smarter places
Our research centre is based in Dundalk Institute of Technology
We develop ideas to enhance the lives of older people
Here at NetwellCASALA, Dundalk Institute of Technology, we create new ideas that enhance the quality of life and well-being of older people and those who care for them, through more integrated community-oriented services, more sustainable home and neighbourhood design, and more age-friendly technologies - with the ultimate aim of enhancing longer living in smarter places. We work collaboratively to provide the services that older people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. Below are just some of the areas we work in.
HCI and Digital Health
Led by Dr Julie Doyle, our goal is the design, development and evaluation of digital health technologies to support older adults and those who care for them to manage their health and wellbeing thereby enhancing independent living and improving quality of life. Methodologies are end-user centred, collaborative and co-productive, engaging all stakeholders across the research and innovation cycle. Our CABIE-SIMS IoT platform provides a powerful engine for a wide range of applications.
Dementia
Led by Dr Lucia Carragher, this research theme covers many areas but is broadly concerned with how to improve quality of life by understanding everyday care and support, dementia friendly neighbourhoods, practice in care homes and how social robotics can be used to improve dementia care.
Wearables
Led by Dr Oonagh Giggins, exploiting the recent advances in wearable sensing technologies, to create a new vista for monitoring health and performance, research undertaken under this theme centres upon understanding health and disease and enhancing quality of life to improve health and well-being outcomes. In collaboration with end-users we highlight the important role of technology enabled solutions for improving population well-being, health service efficiencies and economic opportunity.
Collaboration
We collaborate with industry (commercial and social), academic research centres, and community services at international, national and local level. We provide access to our Living Lab as well as knowledge in ambient assisted living and smart environments, to strengthen research and innovation.
Living Lab
Led by Suzanne Smith, our research-driven Living Lab co-produce innovative solutions with citizens, academia and the public, private and voluntary sectors focussed on Connected Age-Friendly Communities to support longer living in smarter places. Our methods and tools are user and citizen centred, applied in real-world contexts as well as in our Innovation and Performance Lab, and focused on co-production and knowledge valorisation of innovative solutions.
Our research projects
View all projects
ProACT is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project in PHC-25-2015. ProACT targets Europe’s 50 million multimorbid patients to proactively self-manage and offset the EU’s annual €700 billion cost of chronic disease management.
ECME is a transformative cross-border research and innovation programme spanning Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland and adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to remote monitoring and home-based self-management for older persons with cardiac conditions.
Providing appropriate stimulation and increasing levels of engagement of people with dementia is considered to positively impact quality of life and wellbeing. The Paro Project explores how people living with dementia interact with a companion robot and the affective, behavioural, and physiological outcomes of robot therapy.