Successful German-Danish cooperation in healthcare
"How do we want to live in old age?" Joachim Hiller and Dr. Till Kaz from the Institute for Applied Research (IAF) at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences specialising in medical technology are taking an in-depth look at this question. Their Care Lab, known as CarLa, offers a realistic environment in which technical solutions for the care of the elderly can be developed and tested. As part of the ILDA-care project, the researchers met the CEO of Public Intelligence from Odense, Denmark, Peter Julius. They worked with him to formulate the idea of a "container" to create age-appropriate housing. "Although the word "Container" sounds very technical, all the necessary equipment is actually hidden away in this apartment," explains Kaz. "The feelgood factor and sense of security are top priorities. Equipment, such as analytical devices in the mirror, is only visible if necessary." The container is to be used later as a model for further "Age-Based Mobile Adaptive Micro apartments - AMAM" and is acting at the moment as a think tank for everyone working on housing and living solutions for the elderly. For their idea the AMAM team has been presented with the ILDA-care Business Case Award.
The second winning team involves cooperation between Lars Jessen, CEO of the Danish IT company Life Partners A/S, and Christian Frede from AmbiGate GmbH, based in Tübingen, Germany. They received the award for their idea "Virtual Rehabilitation and Training". They aim to develop a platform that supports nursing homes and outpatient care in organising and implementing physiotherapy applications. "We want an integrated solution for virtual training, communication, cooperation, advice and analysis," explains Frede. AmbiGate GmbH has already developed a 3D-based therapy system with innovative motion detection and analysis for rehabilitation and healthcare. Jessen, who has business experience in the Danish healthcare sector, is responsible for areas including the Life Manager Community Platform. This can be used in domestic environments and in-patient facilities alike and simplifies communication between patients and their families and friends.
The Danish Welfare Tech cluster from Odense and Stuttgart-based BioRegio STERN Management GmbH are working together to support ILDA-care. The EU project aims to form a new value chain that links together intelligent logistics, digitalisation and automation for the care sector. Raising the level of care provided in nursing facilities or people's own homes means having to find solutions that allow care staff to focus on delivering personal support instead of using up their scarce resources on time-consuming formal work processes. Numerous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the STERN BioRegion and Denmark and a number of research institutes are involved in the research project. "This strategic international partnership is giving rise to exciting collaborative projects. Two of these have now garnered an award with which to successfully hone their ideas further," says a delighted Dr. Margot Jehle, project manager from BioRegio STERN Management GmbH.