Anglia Ruskin University and British healthtech company MediMusic have received £183,682 of funding from Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation) to investigate how AI technology and music can ease anxiety amongst people of South Asian backgrounds living in care homes with dementia.
It is believed to be the first time music therapy research has been carried out specifically involving people of South Asian backgrounds living in care homes in the UK.
MediMusic is technology that digitally fingerprints music to develop relaxing playlists to help ease pain, anxiety and stress. After expanding the libraries of Indian and Pakistani music on MediMusic, the researchers will explore how this machine learning-based music recommendation app can be used as a form of therapy to support Indian and Pakistani care home residents with dementia, as well as their professional carers.
Initial clinical trials at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust found the use of MediMusic saw a reduction in heart rate in patients living with dementia by up to 25%.
Dr Ming Hung Hsu, a Senior Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, says of the project:
“We will begin by exploring the meaning and use of South Asian music in people’s everyday lives, carry out interviews with those involved in delivering care, and then progress to a controlled pilot study involving care home residents of South Asian backgrounds and their professional carers. This will examine the feasibility of implementing music therapy, using the MediMusic app, within care homes to manage distress for those with dementia.”
Gary Jones, CEO and co-founder of MediMusic and a former music industry executive who developed the technology after trying to help the mother of a family friend who was living with dementia, says:
“The transformative power of music to make us feel more relaxed and healthier is truly extraordinary. Our initial clinical trials have yielded highly promising results, signalling a groundbreaking future in patient treatment. The potential to dispense music as a therapeutic intervention could revolutionise the care of people grappling with pain and anxiety, including for people in care homes and patients in hospital. We believe we will eventually see music prescribed on the NHS. Musical medicine would help the NHS save money on costly medications treating anxiety and stress.”
Find out more from Angela Ruskin University here: https://www.aru.ac.uk/news/mixing-music-with-ai-to-assist-care-home-residents
Visit MediMusic here: https://medimusic.co