It is the only one directly connected to the brain’s limbic system and in particular the amygdala – the part associated with emotional response and memory. By combining the sensory stimulation of fragrance with a sensitively designed product, it offers a discreet reminder of mealtimes throughout the day.īen explained the thinking behind the product: “Smell is unique among our senses. Ode releases three highly authentic food fragrances into living spaces to coincide with meal times. “ode is a design-led joint venture between RODD/ and Lizzie Ostrom, which we developed under the mentorship of Design Council’s Living Well with Dementia design challenge, which addressed issues around independent and assisted living.”ĭesign Council is working really hard to glue together UK innovation, the design community and funding streams – without them ode simply would not have happened. Loneliness and disconnection with food, often as a result of living alone or in care, means malnutrition currently costs the NHS around £13bn a year.” We caught up with Ben Davies, Managing Director of RODD/ and ode co-founder, to discuss ode, how design can help independent living and the new MedTechSouthEast programme.īen explained one of the challenges people with dementia face: “Weight-loss is very common amongst people living with dementia, beyond the cognitive and physical issues associated with the disease. One real success story is ode, a fragrance product designed to stimulate appetite in people with dementia. Over the last decade, Design Council has worked with universities, research bodies and tech startups to develop exciting medtech solutions for key health and social challenges. Our new MedTechSouthEast programme gives innovators and entrepreneurs a chance to develop their new medical technologies on an intensive coaching course, led by design experts and medtech industry leaders. At the launch of our new design competition MedTechSouthEast, we spoke to Ben Davies, Managing Director of RODD/, about how he developed an innovative device to help stimulate appetite in people with dementia with the help of Design Council mentors.

Black Market by Ben Davies