Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Life-changing dementia research isn't just about medicine. There's a big role for arts and humanities, too.
Life with advanced dementia can often be confusing, frustrating and frightening. So a team led by Professor Cathy Treadaway set out to create a comforting therapeutic device designed for the needs of people living with the illness.
With support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), they created HUG: a weighted doll with a heartbeat and the ability to play sounds and music. Early trials with care home residents showed HUG's power to help them regain their confidence and wellbeing.
Today, HUG is a successful product available all over the world, bringing comfort to thousands of people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are UK Research and Innovation, the UK's largest public funder of research and innovation. If you're a UK tax payer, your contributions help fund the work we showcase on our channel. And if you liked this video, follow us on these channels:
Medium: medium.com/@UKRI
Instagram: instagram.com/weareukri
Facebook: facebook.com/weareUKRI
YouTube: youtube.com/c/UKResearchandInnovation
Or sign up for our weekly newsletter public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKRI/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKRI_newsletter
Life-changing dementia research isn't just about medicine. There's a big role for arts and humanities, too.
Life with advanced dementia can often be confusing, frustrating and frightening. So a team led by Professor Cathy Treadaway set out to create a comforting therapeutic device designed for the needs of people living with the illness.
With support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), they created HUG: a weighted doll with a heartbeat and the ability to play sounds and music. Early trials with care home residents showed HUG's power to help them regain their confidence and wellbeing.
Today, HUG is a successful product available all over the world, bringing comfort to thousands of people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are UK Research and Innovation, the UK's largest public funder of research and innovation. If you're a UK tax payer, your contributions help fund the work we showcase on our channel. And if you liked this video, follow us on these channels:
Medium: medium.com/@UKRI
Instagram: instagram.com/weareukri
Facebook: facebook.com/weareUKRI
YouTube: youtube.com/c/UKResearchandInnovation
Or sign up for our weekly newsletter public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKRI/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKRI_newsletter
