The Baycrest-led Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation Accelerates Development of 31 New Healthcare Innovations for People with Dementia

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), led by Baycrest, today announced support for the development and validation testing of 31 new innovations in aging and brain health care ? driving forward opportunities for promising Canadian products and services aimed at improving the quality of life for those affected by dementia and their caregivers.

A total of $1.4 M in support has been leveraged through CABHI's Spark program, which aims at fostering innovations from point-of-care workers who have grassroots ideas they want to develop into real-world applications for the aging population.

Among the funded projects:

• Development of a new Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) App that aims to help providers understand, assess and manage individuals with BSPD utilizing accessible best practice evidence
• Virtual wound care for clients living in residential care, which connects caregivers with highly skilled Wound Care Clinicians who can make an assessment in real time. Caregivers can then immediately implement the treatment plan advised by the Wound Care Clinician -- reducing the risk of infection or having the wound worsen any further
• Improving opioid and medication use for aging adults by developing and testing a process for clinicians to work together to identify and target high-risk co-prescribed medication combinations in older adults in primary care

"Through CABHI's programs and services, innovators are emboldened to advance their projects through a changing global landscape ? to make the most impact across the healthcare sector in Ontario, Canada and across the world," said Dr. William Reichman, Baycrest's President and CEO. "We look forward to seeing the many ways innovations in our pipeline will make a real difference in the lives of older adults impacted by dementia as well as their caregivers."

View the list of CABHI funded projects.

CABHI gratefully acknowledges the support of its funders, the Government of Canada through the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and the Baycrest Foundation.

The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) is a solution accelerator for the aging and brain health sector, providing funding and support to innovators for the development, testing, and dissemination of new ideas and technologies that address unmet brain health and seniors' care needs. Established in 2015, it is the result of the largest investment in brain health and aging in Canadian history. CABHI is a unique collaboration of health care, science, industry, not-for-profit and government partners whose aim is to help improve quality of life for the world's aging population, allowing older adults to age safely in the setting of their choice while maintaining their cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being. For more information on CABHI, please visit: www.cabhi.com.

Baycrest, now in its 100^th year, is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals and one of the world's top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is home to the federally and provincially-funded Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector, and is the developer of Cogniciti ? a free, online brain health assessment for Canadians 40+ who are concerned about their memory. Through its dedicated centres, Baycrest Health Sciences offers unmatched global knowledge exchange and commercialization capacity. Founded in 1918 as the Jewish Home for Aged, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information please visit: www.baycrest.org.

For a French version of this release, please visit: http://www.cabhi.com/spark-round-3-announcement-fr/

SOURCE Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care