CSIRO works with providers to fund new aged care tech scholarships

The CSIRO and several universities are working with aged care providers such as McKenzie Aged Care and Fronditha Care to fund 13 scholarships for university students to study the use of technology such as artificial intelligence in aged care. The Next Generation Graduates Program, “Developing Digital Capabilities to Support the Aged Care Sector”, is an initiative of the CSIRO working alongside RMIT University, Victoria University, and the University of Newcastle to implement the scholarships over the next four years.

“With consumer-directed care as the focus, there is no doubt that AI and assistive technologies can assist staff and residents in the day-to-day operations in the residential aged care environment,” said Simon Keating, CEO of McKenzie Aged Care (pictured). “Digital innovations, such as incident detection and using facial recognition to detect whether a resident is in pain or distress, along with technologies and software that improve the efficiency of administrative tasks, will allow the aged care sector to provide improved levels of care for older Australians.”

The CSIRO has been looking into technology that can assist aged care providers and clients, including a trial of a sensor-based monitoring platform.