Grant: Team Grant: Canada-EU Smart Living Environments - Transitions in Care

The SMILE project is an international effort where European countries and Canada are coming together to provide digital solutions that can help people aged 65 - 80 years with brain disorders (dementia), lung disease (COPD) or other complex health conditions. Working together, SMILE will put the seniors and their caregivers at the center of design by understanding their needs and preferences. This feedback will be used to make smart living environments with artificial intelligence solutions to support ageing people by addressing their specific problems and needs. The Canadian study will specifically use a device called Vitaliti™-a light weight device worn around the neck that can monitor seniors' vital signs and heart beat continually, while they go about their day. This observational study (VISION-2) will be conducted with 900 patients who have surgery and are at risk for serious complications. We will use a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning to study these readings. We will look for slight changes in vital signs that may lead to heart muscle injury, bleeding and infection. Once we know what these signs are, we can then develop an alert system to warn us so we can stop the complications before they happen. We will then look at how effective this alert system can be in 100 patients who will be assigned at random to wear the Vitaliti™ device or not for the first 30 days after surgery. At present, seniors die from infection and other serious complications after surgery- this work is an opportunity to make a real difference. Currently, few structures in current healthcare systems across the EU and Canada support seniors in dealing with unfavorable outcomes related to the ageing process. With SMILE, the hope is to develop age-friendly innovations that are accepted by the ageing population and their care teams. This work is an opportunity to empower older adults and maintain independence and wellbeing to overall improve the quality of life.