Technology-Enabled Care

Technology can enhance the quality of social care services and products, making a real difference in the lives of individuals, their families, and the workforce providing care.

Our vision is to create a network to foster a dynamic community where social care stakeholders, engineers, and physical scientists can come together to identify and address gaps within the social care sector. 

This network will serve as a catalyst for change, breaking down barriers between disciplines and empowering diverse stakeholders to co-create solutions that truly matter. We will achieve this through:

• Championing collaboration: We will facilitate meaningful partnerships between service users, social care professionals, researchers, and industry leaders, fostering a shared understanding and a collective drive for innovation.
• Embracing engineering and physical sciences: We recognise the immense potential of technology to contribute to addressing social care challenges.
• Capacity building, education, and horizon scanning: We will provide opportunities for learning, growth, and staying ahead of the curve, ensuring our network remains at the forefront of social care innovation.

We invite you to join us on this journey. By working together, we can enhance social care pathways, services, and technologies, ultimately improving the lives of those receiving and delivering care. 

For more information, please contact the TESCI via  Email Edinburgh MoveR

Research Funding

Technology nEtwork for Social Care Innovation - TESCI EPSRC (2025-2027)

Infection of the urinary tract, which comprises bladder, urethra, and kidneys, affects the health and wellbeing of 150 million people each year globally. If bacteria from faeces enter the urinary tract, a urinary tract infection (UTI) is likely. Poor hygiene, kidney stones, weakened immune system, physical disabilities, and urinary catheterisation are among the factors that increase the risk of infection. When detected early and correctly, UTI can be treated with antibiotics. However, any delay in the diagnosis or a misdiagnosis can lead to severe health conditions, e.g., sepsis, kidney damage, and in the worst case, death. Annually, urosepsis leads to 1.6M deaths in USA and EU.

The timely diagnosis of a UTI is not trivial. People typically see a medical professional only after they notice clear symptoms of a UTI, e.g., cloudy or smelly urine, or experience pain and increased frequency of urination. By that time the infection may be well developed. The gold standard for the diagnosis of a UTI is based on the laboratory analysis of urine but that can take up to 48 hours. In consequence, the diagnosis and treatment decisions are often based on presenting symptoms. Hospital admissions for UTI’s have increased significantly in all age groups.  

Our aim is to work with stakeholders to co-design new tools and machine learning-based methods for early recognition of urinary tract infections to enable longer and healthier independent living. 

Our working hypotheses are

• There are measurable indicators of a UTI in the movement, behaviour, and interaction patterns.
• An AI-enabled agent with conversational skills will facilitate the recognition of a UTI, which otherwise cannot be extracted.  
• These indicators can be analysed and in the case of a UTI, the person and/or their carers can be alerted in a timely manner.

  For more information: Email Edinburgh MoveR

Research Funding

Facilitating health and wellbeing by developing systems for early recognition of urinary tract infections - Feather EPSRC (2022-2025)