British healthtech company MediMusic and researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) have been awarded £183,682 to investigate how AI technology and music can ease anxiety amongst people of South Asian backgrounds who are living with dementia.
MediMusic has pioneered technology that digitally fingerprints music to develop relaxing playlists to help ease pain, anxiety and stress.
The new project, which is funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is believed to be the first time music therapy research has been carried out specifically involving people of South Asian backgrounds living in care homes in the UK.
After first expanding the libraries of Indian and Pakistani music on MediMusic, the researchers will explore how this machine learning-based music recommendation app can be used as a form of therapy to support Indian and Pakistani care home residents with dementia, as well as their professional carers.
MediMusic’s algorithms extract the relevant features from the digital DNA of a piece of music, resulting in a “fingerprint” for healthcare use. MediMusic works with the patient’s age, gender, nationality, and ethnicity, and then in seconds compiles a 20-minute playlist of music to influence multiple areas of the human brain to help reduce anxiety and pain.
The playlists can be listened to on a streaming device, called the MediBeat, using a pair of headphones, or on other devices such as smartphones.
Initial clinical trials at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust found the use of MediMusic saw a reduction in heart rate in patients living with dementia by up to 25%.
The Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University has a team of 30 researchers, including PhD students, and is one of the largest and most influential research units of its kind in the world.
Dr Ming Hung Hsu, a Senior Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, specialises in using music to treat the symptoms of dementia. He said: “This study is incredibly exciting as research hasn’t been carried out amongst care home residents from the South Asian community before, but we know from our previous work that music can have a joyful and calming effect for those living with dementia and those looking after them.
“We will begin by exploring the meaning and use of South Asian music in people’s everyday lives, carry out interviews with those involved in delivering care, and then progress to a controlled pilot study involving care home residents of South Asian backgrounds and their professional carers. This will examine the feasibility of implementing music therapy, using the MediMusic app, within care homes to manage distress for those with dementia.”
Gary Jones, CEO and co-founder of MediMusic and a former music industry executive, developed the technology after trying to help the mother of a family friend who was living with dementia.
He said: “This is fantastic news for our team and our global mission to use music as medication to ease pain, anxiety and stress.
“The transformative power of music to make us feel more relaxed and healthier is truly extraordinary. Our initial clinical trials have yielded highly promising results, signalling a groundbreaking future in patient treatment.
“The potential to dispense music as a therapeutic intervention could revolutionise the care of people grappling with pain and anxiety, including for people in care homes and patients in hospital.
“We believe we will eventually see music prescribed on the NHS. Musical medicine would help the NHS save money on costly medications treating anxiety and stress.”
Last year, Warner Music Group, the global music and entertainment company, announced a partnership with MediMusic to help trial ‘music as medication’ in care homes and hospitals in the UK and US, as well as granting access to its music catalogue. MediMusic has also secured deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to access their vast music catalogues.
Earlier this year, MediMusic won Start-up of the Year at a global music tech summit.
They beat 140 firms from around the world to win the award at the Wallifornia Music and Innovation Summit in Liege, Belgium
