PROOF (OPAV)

Closed

The demand for personalized nutrition is an undeniable trend in society. Our growing awareness of nutrition and health challenges the food industry to focus strongly on product and process innovation. From the current health and care landscape, the demand for nutrition tailored to the patient is also increasing. People who are chronically care-dependent are very susceptible to malnutrition and therefore form an important target group in the field of personalized nutrition. When searching for innovative solutions, OPAV's partners clashed with a number of missing links in the innovation landscape. To remedy this, this project will build open research facilities at Vives University of Applied Sciences in Roeselare and Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus of Maastricht UMC + and Maastricht University, bringing together expertise from the fields of nutrition and healthcare. This includes, for example, new facilities with measuring equipment for analyzing nutrition, and where screenings can be made into the health status and dietary patterns of patients. Experimental kitchens will also be set up to prepare and develop meal components, and exercise rooms for customized physical testing and training. With the open nature of the facilities, a bridge will be built between research, the business community and care actors to develop nutrition tailored to people with a chronic demand for care. The Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, TUA West and POM West Flanders are also putting their shoulders to the wheel. The partners work together with nutrition companies and care actors in two pilot programs on muscle weakness in the elderly (sarcopenia) and chronic lung disease (COPD). In addition to product development, digital tools are being sought to map the impact of adapted nutrition on patients.

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