New Intel Research Grant Focuses on Aging Advancements

New Intel Research Grant Focuses on Aging Advancements

Getting a head start on assessment and intervention for age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and injuries from falls is the goal of the collaboration between Intel Corporation and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Through a $1 million grant, renewable up to three years, researchers will focus on improving the quality of life of the country’s aging population by developing behavioral marker technologies that help to sense changes in behavior and, in doing so, provide earlier detection and more effective and personalized treatment.

Intel has created the Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Commons (BAIC), a unique academic-industrial collaboration that constructs a research commons — a shared pool of tools, technology and thinking — around behavioral markers and health outcomes. This collaboration promises to bring resources and attention to the development of health care technologies that will create sensors and other behavioral assessment tools to provide early detection and intervention.

Behavioral markers are an exciting, emerging area of research, focusing on measurable changes in behavior that might help us discover a medical problem earlier, notice an important trend in dealing with a chronic disease, or help us personalize treatment for a particular person’s needs. An example of a BAIC technology could be a cell phone that picks up on subtle changes in a person’s voice, triggering a warning for him to see a doctor in case this is a sign of an early-stage neurological disorder. Another example is simple sensors in the home that can help track a person’s movements to reduce the risks of a fall.

“We are grateful that Intel has given us the opportunity to build on our work in this cutting-edge field,” said Tamara Hayes, Ph.D., principal investigator on the grant. “This program is an important complement to our NIH-based studies of aging health outcomes in that it will allow us to make significant progress in developing behavioral marker and intervention technologies that have clinical relevance. Because of our complementary blend of clinical, basic science and engineering researchers, ORCATECH is particularly well poised to lead this field of research.”

Read the complete Press Release