The Research & Innovation for Age(ing) Congress, during which the Age Innovation Prize 2024 was awarded, took place on Thursday, 7th November in the Innovation Park of the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland (OST).
The prize, now in its second year, is organised by the Institute for Ageing Research (IAF) at the University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen as part of the AGE-INT programme (International expertise on life in old age), and aims to promote innovative technological ideas that address the challenges of ageing.
Among the various projects selected, the project "Serious games for the training and cognitive monitoring of the elderly at home" (SIGMA) managed by lecturer-researcher Sara Levati of the Competence Centre for Healthcare Practices and Policies (CPPS) at DEASS, in collaboration with the Institute of Digital Technologies for Personalised Health Care (MeDiTech) and the Institute of Information Systems and Networking (ISIN) of the Department of Innovative Technologies SUPSI, was the winner of the Age Innovation Prize 2024.
The "SIGMA" project developed and implemented serious games to stimulate and monitor the cognitive state of elderly patients being cared for at home, and also analysed their acceptability and use by the recipients (patients and nurses).
Serious games are games designed with a primary focus on education or skills development and represent a promising tool for the cognitive training and assessment of older people. These games integrate engaging and interactive elements to stimulate various cognitive functions, including memory, attention and problem-solving. Serious games facilitate repeated and continuous assessment of cognitive functions, enabling healthcare professionals to visualise trends and detect acute changes that are traditionally difficult to identify.
The project saw the involvement of the Mendrisiotto and Basso Ceresio Home Care Association and enabled the elderly and healthcare professionals working in the home context to be brought closer to the use of technologies that can provide support in the planning and implementation of care.
The "SIGMA" Project