In the fall of 2009, the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology was awarded a 5-year grant from the National Institute on Aging as a Roybal Center on Translational Aging. The overarching objective of our center is to improve technology and to translate that technology into useful tools to improve the health of the aging. ORCATECH seeks to foster translational research and disseminate knowledge, especially pertaining to two key abilities supporting independence: mobility and cognitive function. Specifically, the aims of this grant are:
1) To support a unique infrastructure that facilitates the process of developing and translating basic social, behavioral and biological knowledge about aging independently using state of the art technology and engineering
2) To advance the ORCATECH use-inspired Living Laboratory model for technology-based health monitoring and support of independent aging, utilizing individual residences and communities together with advances in ubiquitous computing and to include new diverse constituencies ranging from early technology adopters to underserved minorities
3) To accelerate the process of development, translation and dissemination of evidence-based knowledge gained in this Living Laboratory through innovative public-private partnerships, cross-disciplinary collaborations and recruitment of new talent into the field.