Astraline’s Joe McLoughlin named on the Inside Housing Tech Leader List 2018

We are delighted that Joe McLoughlin has today been named on the Inside Housing Tech Leader List 2018.

The work of Joe, along with colleagues Tricia Grierson, Suzanne Simons, Helen Thompson, and the Astraline team has been noted as making ‘great strides in digital transformation for customers’.

Their work to use innovation, a smart home approach, and Technology Enabled Care (TEC) as an enabler and value for money driver to support people living longer living better and reduce pressure on NHS services is integral to our strategic approach to deliver Outstanding service to our customers.

In particular our joint project with GSPK Design and the Centre for Assistive Technology at the University of Sheffield to develop a prototype sensor to assess walking speed – a primary indicator of frailty.

This study potentially opens up a completely new way of managing the persistent problem of physical frailty in older people by testing a sensor that can be placed in someone’s home to measure walking speed every time the person passes it.

This is because one of the principal indicators of frailty is walking speed in everyday life. When people start walking more slowly than usual this gives an indicator of the risk of developing frailty. Following laboratory tests, Astraline has been testing the sensor in real life with 18 older persons living independently in a sheltered housing scheme. We expect to report our findings later in 2018.

We are proud to have this important work recognised today. Congratulations to Joe and the team, and to the other individuals named on the Inside Housing Tech Leader List 2018.

Joe McLoughlin is Assistant Director, Astraline and Innovation. He leads our work in these areas, ably supported by the Astraline and Johnnie Johnson teams.