To date, nearly 1,000 participants have taken part in Minder, the UK DRI’s flagship digital care programme developing smart home technology to support people living with dementia to remain at home safely. Bharat and Jyoti Patel have been involved in the trial since 2023, testing smart home technology alongside hundreds of other households in Northwest London. They recently spoke to the BBC about their experience.
The couple have had a colourful life as a magician and magician’s assistant – performing on stages all over the world, in front of audiences including celebrities and members of the royal family. But it was during one of these shows that Bharat first noticed discrepancies in Jyoti’s memory, leading her to make mistakes when setting up the stage. They went to see a specialist and Jyoti was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2021. A couple of years later, they were invited to take part in Minder, which is led by a team at the UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College London.
Bharat and Jyoti performing on stage
The couple’s house is now fitted with various sensors, including:
- A sleep mat underneath the mattress
- Infrared motion sensors in each room
- Door sensors on the doors and fridge
- Plug sensors on the toaster and kettle
Taken together, this data helps build a picture of Jyoti’s overall health over time, making it easier for clinicians to spot early warning signs of infection or behaviour changes. The system is designed to be unobtrusive and privacy preserving: the devices do not need to be interacted with, and they don’t record sound or video.
In an unobtrusive, low-cost way, this technology helps us identify problems for an individual. It acts like a digital safety net, allowing clinicians to identify and intervene much more quickly.
Centre Director & Research Division Lead
With funding from LifeArc and support from Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Council, the system now operates as a live NHS service, MinderCare, delivered in partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in North West London. Launched in early 2025, the service securely transmits data collected through sensors, like those installed in Jyoti and Bharat’s home, to a dedicated team of nurses and specialist clinicians. The team are targeting a 20% reduction in hospital admissions for participants.
Prof Sharp added:
“As a neurologist, I look after people living with dementia and being admitted into hospital, it’s a new environment, and you can pick up infections there. Often people stay there for long periods of time and it’s very common not to return home afterwards, instead being admitted to a care home. If we can prevent some of those hospital and care home admissions from being necessary, it will have a huge impact.”
The Minder team have now been awarded major government funding to expand into rural and coastal communities, and build robust evidence to support the roll-out of MinderCare across the NHS.
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