PolyU researchers’ innovative Music Therapy System for older adults wins CES 2024 Innovation Award for impactful aging technology

A ground-breaking therapeutic music-with-movement system invented by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has won a prestigious global consumer product award in the ‘Accessibility & Aging Tech’ category at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 Innovation Awards.

Being the only Hong Kong educational institution honoured with this award serves as a testament to the exceptional impact of this music-with-movement intervention on older adults and their caregivers. An integral part of the CES, the annual CES® Innovation Award recognizes outstanding innovation in design, evaluating products based on engineering quality, aesthetics and design, practical value, uniqueness and their impact on quality of life.

Dr Daphne CHEUNG, Associate Professor of the PolyU School of Nursing, led the project that developed the “Music-with-Movement System for Older Adults.” The research team merged an existing therapeutic music intervention system with advances in medical research and engineering technology for the ageing population. This ground-breaking system empowers caregivers and staff working in the elderly care sector to effectively and efficiently engage older adults in music intervention.

Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU congratulated the team and said “The research team is well-deserving of this award for their trailblazing work in social technology innovation for interactive music intervention for older adults. This recognition serves as a testament to our commitment to multidisciplinary research with the aim of bringing healing and fostering meaningful connections within the elderly population. PolyU’s academic and research expertise in transformative knowledge and technology remains at the forefront of innovation, providing impactful solutions for the betterment of human well-being.”

The music-with movement system combines many elements including songs, Augmented Reality (AR) interactive games and motion sensors in a tablet, a game engineer and a cloud-based management platform. Integrating oldies music with motion sensors and AR makes it the first of its kind in music interventions. The interactive, cognitively stimulating musical games aim to maintain the cognitive and social stimulation levels of older adults. The user-friendly design of this therapeutic programme also helps alleviate issues caused by social isolation.

Dr Cheung said “It’s my greatest honour to receive this award in recognition of the application of our research into aging technology, a key focus in our work related to the increasingly aging population. The music-with-movement programme reinforces sustainable adoption among old adults for their consistent engagement and facilitates effective intervention and communication.”

While the music-with-movement programme was developed for people in Hong Kong with dementia, it later came to involve family caregivers as a dyadic intervention. Integrating current information and communication technology as implementation strategies for music intervention builds effective communication and collaboration and more effective bonding among old adults, caregivers, staff working in elderly centres and health professionals.

The upcoming CES will be held in Las Vegas, the United States from 9th to 12th January 2024. The PolyU delegation will showcase a number of innovative projects, aiming to connect with technology prospectors for potential collaborations. CES is one of the world's largest consumer technology trade fairs, bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs and thought leaders from around the world. It provides a platform to showcase cutting-edge technologies and breakthrough research.

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