The National Institute on Aging awarded a $232,485 Project Grant (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to adapt and test the feasibility of an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled web app based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family caregivers of people with dementia. The project aims to adapt the ACT-based web app, named WEACT, through collaboration with a community advisory board, and then evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $349,333 to Rendever, Inc. to develop and test the feasibility of a new virtual reality (VR) platform tailored to support dementia caregivers. The VR-CARES initiative aims to create a virtual community where caregivers can connect, receive training, and engage in shared experiences to alleviate feelings of loneliness and stress, and improve job satisfaction. In Phase I, the project will co-develop...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a $490,262 Project Grant (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to Plans4Care Inc. on June 15, 2025 to develop and test a digital platform called "Activities4Care". The platform aims to provide customized, evidence-based activity plans for caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The key products to be delivered under this Fast-Track SBIR award include: A clickable prototype of the Activities4Care platform that...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic aims to modify and evaluate an existing online platform called iPATH*D. The goal is to connect caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias who screen positive for depression to evidence-based mental health treatments. The $170,593 award will fund activities to optimize the platform's screening and referral pathway, as well as assess its...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $811,228 to B.A. Maze, Inc. to develop the At-Home Health Station (AHS), a plug-and-play modular system designed to simplify digital health experiences for individuals with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (CI/ADRD). The AHS system aims to promote health function and independence through remote patient monitoring, while also providing caregivers a platform for...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a $864,674 Project Grant under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) to Lifebio Inc., a small disadvantaged business, to develop a tablet-based platform called LifeBioTalk. This Phase I SBIR project aims to build a prototype of LifeBioTalk, which will provide stimulating audiovisual content narrated by a human-like avatar to engage people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The prototype will have the ability to record...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a $1,010,368 Project Grant under the Aging Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.866) to Koronis Biomedical Technologies Corp. (KBT) to develop and validate an interactive gaming platform to facilitate cognitive interventions for individuals living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The goal is to create an in-home cognition training system that provides evidence-based cognitive activities...
This Project Grant award for $774,997, funded by the National Institute on Aging under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866), will support a randomized clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the CUIDATEXT text message intervention to provide caregiver support for Latino families caring for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The intervention, developed using user-centered principles, delivers tailored daily text messages covering five domains: disease education,...
This Project Grant award from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), under the federal Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health (CFDA 93.213) program, provides $143,960 to develop a therapeutic, music-based mobile application called "Tune Den" to combat neuropsychiatric symptoms in people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The key products to be developed under this award include: The "Tune Den" mobile...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) totaling $956,214 will fund Ceresti Health, Inc. to develop and validate a Spanish-language version of their Caregiver-Enabled Care Program (CECP) for Hispanic/Latino families caring for loved ones with dementia. The CECP is a digital population health intervention that provides personalized education, coaching, and remote monitoring to unpaid/informal caregivers via a dedicated tablet. This project aims...
RECHARGE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR CAREGIVERS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE - PROJECT SUMMARY CARING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND "BURDEN" BECAUSE DEALING WITH AD PATIENT'S COGNITIVE, BEHAVIORAL AND PERSONALITY CHANGES IS VERY CHALLENGING AND STRESSFUL FOR CAREGIVERS. THERE ARE OVER 11 MILLION AD CAREGIVERS IN THE US, PROVIDING INFORMAL CARE SERVICES TO FAMILY MEMBERS, WITH HIGH INCIDENCES OF STRESS (59%) AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (30%). CLINICAL TRIALS AND OTHER ACADEMIC RESEARCH DEMONSTRATED THE BENEFITS OF NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF AD CAREGIVERS, HOWEVER THERE IS A RECOGNIZED NEED TO TRANSLATE THESE PROGRAMS TO ACCESSIBLE PRODUCTS/SERVICES AND DELIVER THEM WIDELY AT MINIMUM COST. TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS, WE PROPOSE THE NEW RECHARGE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (RBT), DERIVED FROM AN EVIDENCE- BASED PROTOCOL TO TREAT DEPRESSION (BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION) AND A PROVEN PROGRAM TO TRAIN COPING SKILLS (COPING WITH CAREGIVING). WE WILL TRANSLATE PRIOR RESEARCH, COMBINE POWERFUL BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION METHODS, AND TAILOR THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUM FOR AD CAREGIVERS INTO A NEW INTERVENTION TO REDUCE STRESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. BESIDES BEING AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION (EFFICACY STABLISHED BY MULTIPLE CLINICAL TRIALS), BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION (BA) WAS SELECTED BECAUSE IT MOTIVATES INDIVIDUALS TO ENGAGE IN HEALTHY BEHAVIORS TO IMPROVE THEIR WELLNESS. AD CAREGIVERS USUALLY SACRIFICE THEIR OWN PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS, WHEN PROVIDING CARE. THE BA COMPONENT WILL ENCOURAGE CAREGIVERS TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN WELL-BEING AND "RECHARGE THEIR ENERGY" IN THEIR CAREGIVING JOURNEY, SO THAT THEY CAN FULFIL THEIR CAREGIVER ROLE AT THEIR BEST AND IMPROVE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. COPING WITH CAREGIVING (CWC) IS A PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM FOR AD CAREGIVERS, EVALUATED IN SEVERAL CLINICAL TRIALS WITH DEMONSTRATED EFFECTIVENESS IN DECREASING CAREGIVER DISTRESS, BURDEN OF CARE, STRESS, AND DEPRESSION. BY INTEGRATING CWC IN RBT, WE WILL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY CONSIDERATION TO THE AD CAREGIVING CONTEXT AND THE RESULTING INTERVENTION WILL CONTAIN BENEFICIAL COPING STRATEGIES FOR AD CAREGIVERS. FURTHERMORE, THE IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISM FOR THE RBT INTERVENTION WILL BE THE NEW RECHARGE MOBILE APP (RMA), AN INTERACTIVE, EASY TO USE, AND ENGAGING MOBILE APP THAT CAN BE DEPLOYED TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ON DEMAND (APP INSTALL FROM APP STORES) AND AT VERY LOW COST (SMALL SUBSCRIPTION FEE). RMA WILL BE TAILORED FOR AD CAREGIVERS WITH TRAINING, PRACTICES, AND CONTENT FOR RBT, WHICH IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET. CREATIVE USE OF APP FEATURES (INTERACTIVITY, COMPLIANCE, AND NOTIFICATIONS) WILL ENGAGE CAREGIVERS. PHASE I WILL DETERMINE THE INITIAL RBT CURRICULUM, DEVELOP THE RMA PROTOTYPE, AND EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY. PHASE II WILL FULLY DEVELOP RBT/RMA AND EVALUATE THE INTERVENTION EFFECTIVENESS WITH A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. RMA WILL HELP TO REDUCE CAREGIVER STRESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS RELATED TO AD CAREGIVING WITH A NON- PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACH; OFFERING AN EFFECTIVE, LOW-COST, AND ACCESSIBLE MOBILE APP TO BE DISSEMINATED TO INNUMEROUS FAMILIES STRUGGLING WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE THROUGH APPLE AND GOOGLE PLAY APP STORES.