A new partnership between scientists, public and private actors will develop new assistive devices to help persons with diabetes and other chronic illnesses to live a more normal life.

People with diabetes are struggling daily to control their blood sugar level in order to avoid life-threatening injuries. The new, unique partnership aims to develop new portable alarms, blood sensors and telemedicine solutions designed to give patients greater certainty that their blood sugar is under control. At the same time, it will seek to provide a more coherent solution for the patients and the carers to better monitor developments and to prevent or treat them, if needed.

Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Helge Sander, welcomed the new partnership:

"Welfare Technology is developing rapidly and it is with good reason. All scientific disciplines are here united towards identifying practical solutions which can help the individuals in their daily lives. In this case, new technology will benefit the public sector, the taxpayer and the patients with chronic diseases alike. This is the purpose of public-private innovation."

Carl Holst, Chairman of the Regional Council of Southern Denmark added: "There are great prospects in this new partnership. This is also why the Region of Southern Denmark has chosen to co-finance the initiative which supports the welfare technological bet of South Denmark. It will create more jobs and help to put the citizen at the centre while boosting innovation and development, in an interaction between the municipalities and the regions."

The development of new tools for diabetes patients is just one example of the solutions envisaged by the new partnership. It will develop broad solutions for citizens with chronic diseases which may also include cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders or smoker's lung, while keeping government spending in check. The cost of the treatments of chronic diseases currently accounts for most of the public health costs.

The partnership, entitled 'Innovative solutions to the chronically ill', will be placed under the leadership of the dean of the University of Southern Denmark, Per Michael Johansen. It includes 12 other scientific institutions (10 from Denmark, 2 from abroad), a number of municipalities, three regions (Region of Southern Denmark, Central Denmark Region and  the North Denmark Region), hospitals and 20 private companies.

The partnership has a total budget of approx. DKK 130 million (about €17.5 million). DKK 42 million (circa €5.6 million) have already been allocated; DKK 23 million (about €3.8 million) have been provided by the Danish Council for Technology and Innovation and a similar amount has been mobilised by the partners. The partnership expects to attract additional funds in the coming years from various public and private sources.

"We will particularly focus on the development of new coherent solutions based on patient involvement and homecare technology. (...) Technologies must, among other things, generate new workflows and ease the patient's life, and not just enhance the efficiency of existing processes," says Per Michael Johansen.

Further information: 

• Official press release - Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (in Danish)