An initiative to use technological advances to tackle mental health and other issues has been launched in Dublin's south inner city.
The Smart D8 programme is seeking innovative pilot projects that address areas of mental health, population health management and Covid-19 impact.
The programme produced research showing that 27% of residents in the southwest inner city had accessed mental health supports in the past two years.
And a total of 68% of residents reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had negatively affected their health.
Project leader Orla Veale said St Patrick's psychiatric facility has already started using video and other technology to treat patients in their own homes instead of having them as in-patients.
The virtual launch took place in the Digital Hub enterprise cluster on James Street where Akara Robotics - one of the medical technical companies based there - has already developed robots for healthcare.
One robot, Violet, uses ultraviolet light to clean hospital facilities eight times faster and kills bacteria and viruses including Covid-19, influenza and MRSA.
Stevie is another robot which can interact with people and is used for residents of nursing homes.
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(Video courtesy of Trinity College Dublin)
Anthony Freeman O'Brien of the Robert Emmet Community Development Project said digital technology has helped people, particularly the very young and old, get through the pandemic.
He said people living in inner city flat complexes had suffered disproportionately and the enclosed space had exacerbated existing issues.
"There's no back garden. You can go out on the balcony but then there's other people standing there and you're not socially distanced."
Ms Veale said other bodies involved in the Smart D8 project include St James's Hospital, NCAD and Trinity College.
CEO of St James's Hospital Mary Day said at the launch: "Dublin 8 is in a prime position to become the "Silicon Valley" of healthcare in Ireland and we are excited to see how this new collaborative ecosystem can help deliver on this potential."
This is the programme's first call for pilot projects and the deadline for submissions is 28 April.
