DIGI4Care Is Shaping the Future of European Healthcare

Press release

The project is funded by the European Union under the Interreg DANUBE programme.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest health and social risks of our time. Its impact reaches beyond the patients themselves, affecting their families, caregivers, and the entire healthcare system. A project funded by the Interreg DANUBE program connects experts, tech companies, healthcare institutions, and universities from 8 countries in the Danube region. The Faculty of Management at the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) is involved in the international DIGI4Care project by testing modern technologies that could significantly transform care for individuals with cognitive impairments. Among the most promising approaches are social robots, remote monitoring, and cognitive rehabilitation tools.

Why is DIGI4Care changing healthcare?

Today’s healthcare systems face major challenges – from limited access to care, rising costs, and an increasing number of patients with chronic and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. According to the Czech Alzheimer Society, approximately 171,000 people in the Czech Republic suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and this number is expected to rise to more than 300,000 by 2050. This increase poses a massive burden on the healthcare system and represents a serious economic threat.

Many individuals who choose to care for loved ones as informal caregivers often leave their jobs, becoming economically inactive. Their return to the labor market is difficult, and the resulting loss of qualified workers across various sectors leads to reduced productivity and economic performance.

Caring for Alzheimer’s patients is physically, mentally, and financially demanding. Many families cannot afford adequate care at home. Patients living alone rely on long-term care systems, which are already under severe capacity strain.

The DIGI4Care project brings solutions in the form of modern technologies that can improve care quality, reduce caregiver burden, ensure a sustainable long-term care system, and maintain high standards of care.

Technologies being tested include:

  • Social Robot Robin
    A robotic companion providing emotional support and cognitive stimulation for seniors. It enables personalized interaction (recognizes faces and voices) through conversation and games. It reduces loneliness and depression, can hold empathetic conversations, and respond to emotional needs. It also offers entertainment by playing music, telling stories, and showing videos.
  • PROXYQB Cubes
    Interactive cubes used to rehabilitate fine motor skills and cognitive functions through games. Along with a tablet and web app, they create personalized cognitive rehabilitation tasks.
  • TELMED Vital Sign Monitoring
    Monitors key vital signs such as body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, ECG, and blood glucose levels. The system also allows remote data transmission to central systems, enabling continuous patient monitoring and prompt responses from staff.
  • Motion Monitoring
    Detects patient falls and enables immediate staff intervention and assistance.
  • Philips Voice Transcription
    Automatically transcribes speech to simplify documentation and increase staff efficiency. The technology helps reduce administrative burdens.

“TELMED’s vital sign monitoring enables simplification and acceleration of current care processes. In standard models, nurses must measure each vital sign separately using multiple devices and then manually enter the results into the client’s database. With the TELMED unit, it will be possible to measure six vital signs using a single device, which will automatically transfer the data into the client’s electronic records,” explains Kristina Randlová.

The Czech Republic and the Role of the Faculty of Management, VŠE

The Czech Republic is one of the key participants in the DIGI4Care project. The Faculty of Management at VŠE plays a leading role in Pilot 4, which focuses on care for individuals with cognitive deficits. This pilot includes:

  • Implementing innovative technologies in the care of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
  • Creating methodologies and standards for introducing digital tools in healthcare facilities.
  • Training healthcare staff to ensure readiness to use new technologies.

The Faculty of Management at VŠE is implementing technologies such as remote monitoring devices and social robots in healthcare and social care facilities in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Testing in the Czech Republic and Austria will focus on Alzheimer’s patients, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina the focus is on post-stroke patients.

“We’re curious to see how the pilot will go. We’re testing various technologies with different levels of complexity. The social robot may be very attractive for patients, but we’ll see how staff accept it, considering maintenance, charging, and Wi-Fi coverage,” says Peter Pažitný.

“The cognitive cubes are also very interesting. They help patients with cognitive training and aim to relieve staff workload. However, only the pilot will show how crucial staff presence is for their use, and whether patients can operate them independently,” he adds.

International Cooperation and Data Comparability

One unique aspect of the pilot is the testing of cognitive cubes not only in the Czech Republic but also in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The technology provider (ProxyQB) has prepared language adaptations to ensure results can be effectively compared across countries.

“Our pilot will include one technology shared with international partners – the cognitive cubes. These will be tested not only in the Czech Republic but also in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The supplier has created language versions and user interfaces for foreign partners. All games have been translated, making the results comparable across patient groups. In the Czech Republic and Austria, testing will focus on Alzheimer’s patients, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina it will include post-stroke patients or those with other cognitive deficits,” clarifies Pažitný.

Key Partners in the Czech Republic

DIGI4Care benefits from close collaboration between academic and applied partners. Key Czech partners include:

  • Vysočina Region
  • Vysočina Social Centre – Domov Ždírec
  • Alzheimer Home Jihlava
  • Integrated Center of Social Services Jihlava

DIGI4Care: Together for Better Healthcare

The DIGI4Care project demonstrates that through collaboration between science, practice, and modern technology, we can create more efficient and accessible healthcare that transforms the lives of millions.

For more information, visit the DIGI4Care project page.

Media Contacts:

Peter Pažitný
Head of the Research Team, Faculty of Management, VŠE
peter.pazitny@vse.cz

Kristina Randlová
Member of the DIGI4Care Research Team
kristina.randlova@vse.cz

https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/digi4care

 

The project is funded by the European Union under the Interreg DANUBE programme.