We’re excited to share that QoLEAD PhD candidate Baran Polat has had his abstract accepted for a poster presentation at the upcoming 35th Alzheimer Europe Conference, taking place from 6 to 8 October 2025 in Bologna, Italy. Baran’s research explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to classify stages of Alzheimer’s disease based on speech characteristics in Dutch-speaking individuals. While speech is increasingly recognized as a promising biomarker for Alzheimer’s, there is still relatively little research focusing on Dutch speakers. This study contributes to a growing body of work exploring how Dutch-specific linguistic features—such as diminutives, grammatical gender, and compound word complexity—might help detect early cognitive decline. The study has now entered…

Dirk, one of QoLEAD’s researchers, attended the Data Driven Healthcare conference—an inspiring event that focused on the role of data and AI in the future of healthcare. In this article, he shares his key takeaways from the day, highlighting the urgency for collective action, the importance of data availability, and practical insights for successful AI implementation in healthcare. ‘Yesterday, I attended the Data-Driven Healthcare conference—an inspiring day focused on the role of data and AI in healthcare. The central message? The time for merely talking about AI in healthcare is over. Now is the time for the sector to take…

PhD student Jinjing from the Qolead consortium recently attended the lolaHESG 2025 conference. Below, she shares her reflections on this inspiring day! I just returned from the lolaHESG 2025 conference—and what an inspiring experience it was! Unlike traditional academic conferences, lolaHESG takes a refreshing approach: instead of presenting your own paper, a fellow researcher presents it for you. A full hour of in-depth discussion is guided by a dedicated discussant and a group of researchers. This format creates space for thoughtful, constructive feedback that genuinely pushes our work forward. It was also energizing to connect with peers across the Netherlands…

In May, QoLEAD’s Teis spent three intensive weeks as a visiting researcher with the Gender Studies (TEMAG) group at the Department of Thematic Studies at Linköping University in Sweden. Under the guidance of Professor Ericka Johnson, he had the opportunity to deepen his expertise in qualitative research methods. During his stay, Teis engaged in inspiring conversations with renowned researchers such as Jelmer Brüggemann, Alma Persson, and Lisa Guntram. These exchanges enriched his methodological knowledge and broadened his academic perspective. A particularly valuable part of the visit was his seminar presentation at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, hosted by Sofia Thunberg. Teis´s presentation sparked…

On May 20th, Dirk had the pleasure of attending the very first National AI in Healthcare Conference in Amsterdam — and what an inspiring day it was. Curious about what the day had to offer? Read about Dirk’s experience below! ‘The morning opened with a series of thought-provoking plenary talks that each, in their own way, underscored the growing importance of AI in shaping the future of healthcare.  Diederik Gommers set the tone with a compelling reflection on the looming “healthcare infarct” and the urgent need to keep care both humane and accessible. Following him, Bart Scheerder shared how the…

The Dementia Lab Conference 2025 in Portugal provided a unique opportunity for researchers and professionals to come together and share their knowledge and experiences on warm technology for people with dementia. A team of dedicated researchers from the Expertise Centre for Technology and Dementia, attended the conference. QoLEAD’s Ellis and Teis reflect on this inspiring event and share their insights and experiences, which have been of great value both personally and professionally EllisVisiting DementiaLab was super great for me, since I am still new to the academic field, I feel I got marinated in the people, the topic and the…

The abstract from QoLEAD’s health-economic team “Conceptualizing a Health-Economic Model to Assess the Impact of Artificial Intelligence-based Technology in Dementia Care” has been accepted for discussion at the lolaHESG (Lowlands Health Economists’ Study Group) Conference 2025 this May! Congrats to Jinjing Fu, Ron Handels, Erik Buskens and many others in the QoLEAD consortium who have contributed to this project 🙌 Why is this important?AI-based technologies hold great promise in dementia care—for example, by reducing caregiver burden and improving the quality of life for people living with dementia. However, these innovations also come with significant costs: hardware, software, maintenance, training for…

The first study within the QoLEAD consortium has been published in the journal ‘Ageing Research Reviews’: Use of artificial intelligence to support quality of life of people with dementia: A scoping reviewQoLEAD’s Dirk Steijger shares insights on his latest publication, created in collaboration with his co-authors Hannah Christie, Sil Aarts, Wijnand IJsselsteijn, Hilde Verbeek, and Marjolein de Vugt. Dementia significantly affects the quality of life of people with dementia, and while artificial intelligence (AI) offers exciting opportunities for personalised care, its role in supporting the quality of life has remained unclear — until now. Dirk is excited to share this…

To get to know each other and to get to know the people behind the projects, members of QoLEAD have started to interview each other. Following the first interview, during which Anne Kolmans (PhD in WP4) was interviewed, Anne interviewed Dirk Steijger (PhD in WP3). After a succesful second interview, Dirk in turn interviewed Hans Arnold, project manager of QoLEAD. Read more about Hans, his personal motivations and his vision on AI! Hans and the power of AIHans is the founder of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Network (JAIN). JAIN focuses on improving the quality of life for people with dementia…

Endowed professor Rens Brankaert – expert in the field of technology in healthcare – shared his vision in the media on transforming elderly care through technology and social innovations. “We must dare to rethink our care system,” he states, as nursing homes are expected to reach full capacity. Brankaert shares the story of his grandfather with dementia and the development of the ‘Wel Thuis Kompas,’ a GPS-driven device that helps people with dementia navigate home. This compass is an example of how technology can aid in care, but Brankaert stresses that technology alone is not enough; social innovation and new…

By Rianne Tessers (QoLEAD) – 12-02-2025  QoLEAD at the annual DEMPACT day! On Thursday, January 23rd – almost a year after the kick-off of DEMPACT – we gathered at The Social Impact Factory in the heart of Utrecht. QoLEAD was also present (Hans Arnold, project manager and Rianne Tessers, impact manager) . The DEMPACT project (dementia and impact), initiated by Alzheimer Nederland, focuses on increasing the societal impact of dementia research by promoting the use of research results and developed products. In the coming years, DEMPACT will support 10 research consortia in the Netherlands (NCDC, ABOARD, MODEM, BIRD-NL, NDPI, SPREAD+,…

Thanks to Malou van de Noort en Noortje Broeder – 04-04-2024 Every quarter we invite one of the care partners involved in QoLEAD to share their perspectives – on AI, design or on working in academic project. This time sharing their insights: Avoord. What does ageing well with dementia look like? Do we want to be as self-sufficient and autonomous as the situation allows? Do we mostly want company and be held in meaningful relations, perhaps? And what role do we want AI to play in upholding these values in daily life with dementia? During the QoLEAD co-creation workshop, hosted…

By Anne Kolmans – 15-02-2024  Every quarter one consortium member interviews another consortium member to get to know each other member and help us to get to know the people behind the project. Following the first interview, during which Anne Kolmans (PhD in WP4) was interviewed, she in her turn has a Q&A with Dirk Steijger (PhD in WP3). Who is Dirk? Could you tell us something about your background and the organization you work for?  “I am 31 years old and live in Tilburg. I first pursued a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Business Administration at Utrecht University of Applied…

By Teuni Wolters (Alzheimer Nederland) & Karlijn van Rijen (QoLEAD) – 15-02-2024  On the 8th of February, more than 40 researchers spread across the country travelled to the Social Impact Factory – what’s in a name – for the DEMPACT kick-off. On behalf of QoLEAD, on this day referred to as ‘the project with AI and dementia’, Wijnand IJsselsteijn, scientific project coordinator, Hans Arnold, project manager and Karlijn van Rijen, impact manager, were present.  DEMPACT (dementia and impact) is a project that aims to increase the social impact of dementia research by increasing the usage of knowledge and products from…

Each newsletter will feature a microlearning: a short and quick learning activity with insights from our project partners. The micro-learnings will cover lessons from AI, care practice, design insights and more.

This first microlearning was provided by Vilans’ Henk Herman Nap and Dirk Lukkien, and tells us the three key insights for our QoLEAD community following from their recently published whitepaper ‘Wat gaat AI betekenen voor de ouderenzorg’:

SVRZ, a leading care organization in Zeeland, is teaming up with the academia in the QoLEAD project. They offer care and rehab for elderly, including those with dementia. SVRZ is working hard to connect academic ideas with real-world care challenges, hoping to put the latest knowledge into practice faster. Teis Arets, PhD candidate in QoLEAD, did an internship past summer with SVRZ to better understand the daily challenges caregivers face with people with dementia.

Read more about SVRZ’s perspectives on the project and how they experienced having an academic over in their care practice…

Anne Kolmans is one of the PhD’s working in QoLEAD. Teis Arets, a fellow PhD, interviewed her for this newsitem.

In this interview, Anne shares her journey from psychology to robotics and ultimately her PhD research at Radboud UMC about the social connectedness of people with dementia. Special is Anne’s early experience in elderly care, with a mother working in a nursing home: “we helped with bingo, delivering meals, and for example at Christmas celebrations”.

Anne’s research focuses on co-designing AI with people with dementia to improve social relationships. Her advice to fellow researchers: really get to know your target group.