Dementia Support Line
Supporting the Longitude Prize on Dementia: A new frontier in dementia care
The Longitude Prize on Dementia is generating and accelerating new technological solutions to drastically improve the daily lives of people affected by dementia.
The challenge
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. 900,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK and - if nothing changes - a terrifying 1 in 3 people born today are expected to develop the condition. Social care is a post-code lottery, preventing people living with dementia from maintaining independence in their own home for longer.
The solution?
Alzheimer's Society, Innovate UK and Challenge Works have launched a £4 million prize pot - the Longitude Prize on Dementia. The Prize funds innovators to create ground-breaking new technologies which enable people with dementia to live independent, more fulfilled lives in their own homes for as long as possible.
Examples of Longitude Prize innovations
How it works
September 2022
175 teams of innovators from around the world applied to take part in the Prize. Applications are reviewed by a panel of people with lived experience of dementia.
June 2023
24 Discovery Awardee grants of £80,000 are granted to 24 shortlisted teams. This funding supports them over a 16-month period as they rapidly design and test their innovation.
August 2024
Five finalists are selected and granted £300,000 to develop a real-world prototype of their innovation. Teams are connected with people living with dementia to thoroughly test usability.
February 2026
One overall winner is given £1 million funding to take their innovation to market. As a result of the Prize all finalists are in a strong position to fully develop and launch their innovation, improving lives.
The Longitude Prize for Dementia finally addresses what experts in the sector have been looking for: revolutionising care and support for individuals, and their families, grappling with dementia. We know just how devastating dementia can be. But we have also seen the many victories won by those with dementia, and that is what we choose to focus on. We are therefore delighted to be supporting the Prize to ensure many victories in the future.
Tariq Raja, Foundation Manager, CareTech Charitable Foundation
The Longitude Prize has received generous support from UK donors; The Hunter Foundation, CareTech Foundation, and Heather Corrie, as well as the Medical Research Council.
Using augmented reality to help people independently navigate their local community
Helps people to recognise familiar faces, zoom in and out to facilitate navigation, make phone calls to loved ones and check vital signs
Uses language processing to listen and repair 'broken speech' - a common challenge as dementia advances.