AGE-WELL is delighted to support four international research projects in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) and the University of Toronto as part of the network’s aim to create new global research opportunities in AgeTech.

AGE-WELL and the University of Toronto partnered with the ACRC in 2024 to develop new international research collaborations in AgeTech. The initiative began with a virtual workshop that brought together 20 researchers from 10 institutions across Canada and Scotland, representing diverse disciplines and with many participants meeting for the first time. The researchers rapidly recognized shared interests and collaboratively responded to a call for joint proposals on “Innovation Through Future Care Approaches to Healthy Aging.”

Each of the four projects funded through the call includes at least one principal investigator from both Canada and Scotland. The research focus spans from music-based interventions aimed at enhancing dementia care to the development of frameworks that optimize the use of digital health solutions for older adults living in long-term care homes. These are the four collaborative projects:

1. Designing digital services for new models of senior care
   Led by Drs. Matt Ratto (University of Toronto) and John Vines (ACRC), this team is addressing the barriers to implementing digital interventions that support new care models for older adults. The project facilitates novel exchanges of findings between researchers from two different geographic contexts that will inform the development of knowledge sharing and toolkits to support future digital services for new models of senior care globally.
2. Enhancing dementia care with music-based interventions
   Drs. Andrew Sixsmith (Simon Fraser University), Amy Clements-Cortes (University of Toronto) and Katie Overy (ACRC) are leading an interdisciplinary research team in an early-stage project that maps out future research and development to explore music-based interventions for dementia care and how they can have a positive impact on the well-being, health, cognition and social participation of older people living with dementia, both in acute care settings, and in long-term care and other environments.
3. An international approach to strengthen AI in dementia care
   Drs. Babak Taati (KITE – Toronto Rehab at UHN and University of Toronto), Andrea Iaboni (KITE – Toronto Rehab at UHN and University of Toronto), and Ram Ramamoorthy (ACRC) are organizing a joint workshop to explore the application of AI in dementia care. The two-day workshop on May 5-6, 2025, in Toronto will foster international collaboration in developing AI-based technologies that can improve the quality of life and care for people living with dementia in both community and residential care settings.
4. Evaluating digital health technologies for older adults in care homes
   Drs. Jeffrey Jutai (University of Ottawa), Kathrin Cresswell (ACRC), and Susan Shenkin (ACRC) are establishing an international collaborative, transdisciplinary network to identify existing evaluation frameworks that guide the best use of digital health solutions for older adults living in care homes. They aim to maximize the positive impacts of digital solutions in care homes and provide technology developers guidance on how to design solutions for older adults in care settings effectively.

The four projects are supported by a total investment of $100,000 CAD from AGE-WELL and the University of Edinburgh. The funding is intended to support the development of research links and to catalyze further collaboration.

AGE-WELL’s contribution is made possible by funding through the Strategic Science Fund (SSF), jointly administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and through matching funds from private and public sector partners.

AGE-WELL is Canada’s Technology and Aging Network. The network is also a member of the University of Toronto’s Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISI) portfolio, which supports large-scale interdisciplinary research networks that address grand challenges.