The Government is to fund the development of 17 projects aimed at supporting people’s mental health, including smart glasses that help people struggling with severe depression.
The projects are to receive a share of £3.6m investment from Innovate UK, a public body that supports business-led innovation, with an aim to help reduce costs to the NHS and resource pressures.
One of these projects is smart glasses, developed by CrossSense. These use AI to address the impact that illnesses like depression, anxiety and psychosis can have on memory loss.
The glasses can recognise household objects and offer advice on a connected app. It aims to help reframe negative thoughts and offer step-by-step instructions for daily tasks. It can also adapt to the wearer’s needs over time and helps to prevent cognitive decline, including dementia, according to the Government.
The technology will be built and trialled over the next year to 18 months.
Other projects included in the funding are:
- Play Well for Life, an augmented reality board game that helps to get children back to a learning environment where they can thrive.
- A customisable virtual coach for individuals struggling with substance abuse, led by Life Process Program in Northern Ireland.
- EcoGPX in West Yorkshire, which links extended reality with physical activities to connect people with nature and support adults living with generalised anxiety.
- An app that combines AI with augmented reality (AR) to help young people create therapeutic visual content. The technology, by Photography Based Therapeutics, working with the University of Surrey, will enable young people to edit photographs using familiar AR filter tools, removing elements that cause distress and adding ‘calming features’.
Science minister, Lord Vallance, said: ‘These projects are shining examples of how innovation can transform people’s quality of life, by helping those with severe mental health conditions to take on everyday tasks that can otherwise feel impossible.
‘From smart glasses helping those with debilitating depression to navigate through the day to games helping children to build their social skills, we are supporting teams across the UK to build cutting-edge tech that unlocks opportunity, supports the NHS and grows our economy.’
Minister for mental health, Baroness Merron, said: ‘Technology is transforming healthcare and we are putting patients at the heart of this revolution.
‘New tools such as smart glasses and AI filter apps show how we’re backing innovations to reach people with mental health conditions – especially in communities that often get left behind.
‘By embracing new tech, we’re improving lives and reducing pressure on the NHS to make healthcare fit for the future, as part of our Plan for Change.’
It comes as Microsoft has launched its ambient voice technology tool this week.
