Congratulations to the winners of the World JAIN Challenge 2022!

On Wednesday 6 April, the winners of the World JAIN Challenge 2022 were formally announced by Conny Helder – the Dutch Minister of Long-Term Care and Sports. This happened during an online broadcast from the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland. Franka Meiland was chairman of the WJC jury and had the honour to invite Minister Helder to announce the winners.

From INTERDEM the following members participated in the assessment committee (much appreciated!): Carolien Smits, Ana Barbosa, Martina Roes, Giovanni Ottoboni, Rikke Gregersen, Eineda Mioshi, Manuel Goncalves Pereira, Manuel Martin Franco, Shirley Evans, Marjolein de Vugt, Marco Blom and Diana Gove. The ceremony can be viewed here (from time: 1:00:56)

In the category best prototype to support people with dementia, the winner is: DeepVibes, by Frederico Allegro and his team from the UK.
DeepVibes wants to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers by developing an Artificial Intelligence application based on reminiscence therapy, which is a proven effective intervention in dementia. The app stimulates conversations, records them and thus keeps these memories digital and easily available. The recordings are analysed with Artificial Intelligence technology and provide information about cognitive and language abilities. The app is available for free and is still being developed. See here for a movie.

And the best product is Genus Home Care by Marie-Christine Vierhout and her team from the Netherlands.
Genus Home care helps people with dementia to stay connected, it records their daily patterns and changes in the environment, and it gives alerts if there is a worrying event. The device is a beautiful smart picture frame where photos can be shared and video contact can take place. There are various sensors, for example to register movement, light, sound, gas and carbon monoxide, after which an alarm can be raised.

Hopefully, the prize will give an impetus to these technological applications and will help to make a real difference in healthcare practice. And of course the same goes for the other finalists, who also shared great applications. The members of the European Working Group for People with Dementia (EWGPWD) liked all the products and thought they would be well accepted by the target group.

See here for the complete broadcast of the award ceremony, including the round table discussion (from minute 21:00) with Prof. Wijnand Ijsselsteijn (TU/e), Drs. Jos de Groot (director digital economy, Ministry of Economic Affairs), Mr. Roland Driece (director international affairs, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport) and dr. Franka Meiland (chairman of the WJC jury, Amsterdam UMC) and the pitch by Minister Conny Helder (from minute 55:01).