The Longitude Prize on Dementia

A new £4.1 million prize to develop life-changing technology launches September 2022

Alzheimer’s Society, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have together announced that a new £4.1m Longitude Prize on Dementia to change the lives of people living with dementia will launch this September. The prize will be delivered by innovation challenge prize experts, Challenge Works.

The Longitude Prize on Dementia will incentivise assistive technologies to help people remain independent in their homes – an effective way to slow the disease’s progression.

The challenge

Innovators will be challenged to develop technologies that learn about the lives of people with early-stage dementia, employing novel and emerging technologies to bridge cognitive gaps that develop as their condition progresses.

The £4.1m Longitude Prize on Dementia will award £3.1 million in seed funding and grants to the most promising innovators, with a £1 million prize awarded to the winner in early 2026.

The support

In addition, wider support has been funded to provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise, facilitating whatever they need to bring their ideas to life – like access to data, collaborations with people living with dementia and dementia organisations in the UK and around the world, advice on product design, user experience and business mentoring.

Alzheimer’s Society

Spotlighting why new assistive technologies for people living with dementia are a missing piece of the innovation puzzle, Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimer’s Society explained,

“Current technologies supporting dementia care focus on monitoring people and alerting their carers but there are real opportunities for innovation which will support people to live joyfully and independently.

The Longitude Prize on Dementia will deliver technologies that become an extension of the individual’s working ‘brain’ and memory in a way that is specific to their needs – enabling them to continue living at home and doing the things they love for as long as possible.”

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The Longitude Prize on Dementia