About SPHERE
The UK currently spends 70% of its entire health and social care budget on long-term health conditions. To better understand the causes, create new treatments and help patients self-manage conditions, the SPHERE home-based technology has a unique capability to measure health-related behaviours to build a picture of how people live in their homes.
Since 2013, SPHERE has worked with scientists, doctors, engineers and more than 200 members of the public to achieve the project goal of creating an affordable sensor system that can be installed in the home. Over 100 people have lived with the SPHERE technology, for months or even years.
The platform has had ten years of successful deployments and data analysis with researchers collecting data that will continue to be utilised for years to come.
An event to celebrate ten years
Over 120 guests gathered at Wills Memorial Building with the opportunity to view posters, talk to researchers and take part in interactive demonstrations which showed some of the technology developed by SPHERE. The event offered a unique chance for all the stakeholders who have contributed to the success of SPHERE in the last ten years to come together and celebrate.
The event opened with Professor Ian Craddock, Director of SPHERE, giving an overview of the project and its achievements and introducing invited speakers to talk about their journey with SPHERE. The speakers included members of the Independent Advisory Board, EPSRC, the industry and the Digital Health PhD student.
Professor Phil Taylor (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise), Professor Ian Bond (Dean of Engineering) and Professor Evelyn Welch (Vice-Chancellor and President) thanked the SPHERE team as well as the many members of public who had taken part in the research, whilst reflecting on both the purpose of large grants and the long-term impact on Bristol’s staff, students and the city.
Professor Ian Craddock said "It was fantastic to welcome so many people from the University, our city and beyond to our celebration event. Congratulations to the whole team for their immense accomplishment."