• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Thursday February 23 2023
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Milbotix seeks £500,000 to bring SmartSocks for dementia sufferers to market

Care-tech firm Milbotix has outlined its plans for an investment round to complete the development of its SmartSocks innovation, which tracks signs of stress and agitation in people with neurocognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The University of Bristol spin-out – which is headquartered in Oxfordshire with offices in Bristol – was founded by robotics and AI expert Dr Zeke Steer and dementia specialist Jacqui Arnold to improve the lives of people who, due to neurocognitive diseases, find it hard to communicate stress.

The company – which has the backing of the Alzheimer’s Society – is looking for angel investment of £500,000.

SmartSocks contain comfortable sensors that measure the wearer’s sweat, pulse, temperature, and motion. They work in conjunction with patent-pending artificial intelligence software and a mobile app that alerts carers to signs of distress.

Zeke was working as a software engineer in the defence industry when his great-grandmother, Kath, began showing signs of dementia. A gentle person with a passion for jazz music, she became prone to bouts of agitation and aggression after her diagnosis.

Realising that technologies like artificial intelligence could revolutionise dementia care, Dr Steer quit his job and completed a PhD at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory so that he could find a way to help people like Kath.

During his PhD research, he spent some time volunteering with Bristol-based charity St Monica Trust.

“I came to see that my great grandmother’s symptoms weren’t an isolated case, and that distressed behaviours are very common,” he explained.

“Current alternatives to the SmartSocks are worn on the wrist, which presents problems with the devices being removed and causing distress.

“The SmartSocks are comfortable and familiar and exploit the high density of sweat glands on the soles of the feet to more accurately recognise when the wearer is stressed.”

Milbotix said it is “seeking passionate, impact-oriented investors to help us revolutionise how dementia care is delivered.”

Natasha Howard-Murray, senior innovator at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “By taking the form of an everyday item, these smart socks are less stigmatising and invasive than current products and will be easier to use in care settings, helping carers to feel less overwhelmed with multiple tasks.”