People living with dementia may soon benefit from the launch of a new music therapy app developed at the University of Melbourne, supported by a $2m grant from Google’s philanthropic arm.

The app, called MATCH (Music Attuned Technology – Care via eHealth), aims to exploit the therapeutic potential of music for people living with dementia across Australia and address a common challenge for people with the various forms of the condition.

Communicating with a wearable technology component, MATCH will detect early signs of agitation, then provide music-based interventions to help regulate and stabilise mood and reduce the likelihood of challenging behaviours that may require forms of physical intervention.

Professor Felicity Baker. Photo supplied

University of Melbourne Professor Felicity Baker, the principal investigator of the MATCH project, has been working in field of music therapy and dementia for three decades. Speaking to Limelight, she explained that the app will be a personalised tool that will support dementia patients and their carers, whether in the home or in residential care.

The launch of the app comes in the wake of the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which...