The Aspen Tree is set to become the first residential project for seniors to make use of innovations and research into project development and resident services through collaboration with two leading research centres

18 March 2024, Bangkok – The Aspen Tree The Forestias, the residential project for the over-50s, has announced its collaboration with Baycrest, the geriatric experts from Canada, and the Research and Innovation for Sustainability Center under MQDC (RISC by MQDC) to conduct in-depth research into brain science, the prevention of brain deterioration from age, and the science of happiness. The Aspen Tree will be the world’s first residential project to turn such research results into innovations and implement them in its projects to provide better ‘Holistic Lifetime Care’, as well as promote preventive healthcare, brain health enhancement, and quality of life.

The cooperation aims to promote a new body of knowledge on brain health and happiness science, which will help improve residential projects for people aged 50+ and directly address the arrival of a super-aged society.

Kristian Toivanen, Executive Director of The Aspen Tree The Forestias, said the project was delighted to support the development of brain science and turn related innovations into reality for the benefit of the people and the ageing society. The Aspen Tree The Forestias will be the first residential project in the world to apply and integrate such innovations into project development. This will enable the project to provide comprehensive health care service, so-called ‘holistic lifetime care’ for its residents. In addition, the research results under this cooperation will be used by the soon-to-be-open Health & Brain Center at The Aspen Tree The Forestias.

The Aspen Tree has observed the steady growth of the aged population around the world, including Thailand. It has therefore developed a residential project, especially for this group of customers, with the aim of becoming the world’s first such project to provide holistic lifetime care and promote physical, mental, brain and social health. With this goal in mind, The Aspen Tree has been working with research centres and geriatric science specialists to develop the project from the blueprint stage to after-sales services to better serve this group with specific needs.

“Senior citizens are critical. They form the majority of our society and have a lot of experience, expertise, knowledge, and energy. Many are still very active and can contribute a lot to the economy and society. If we can help them live the life they dream of, we are not only making them happy but also supporting comprehensive social development. The Aspen Tree is glad to work with the Happiness Science Hub by RISC and Baycrest and be the sandbox for innovators. We hope our project will be the happy home for long-term life planners and future innovation development,” Mr Toivanen said.

Dr Sarigga Pongsuwan, AVP of the Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC) and the head of Happiness Science Hub, said that through this collaboration, RISC will focus on happiness science, which is one of the five core research fields at RISC. The Happiness Science Hub is the first research house in Asia to emphasize the secrets of the brain and to understand happiness creation factors, which is a new body of knowledge. The research results will be further developed and turned into innovations for the better quality of life of the people, especially the 50+ group, which is becoming the majority of the population. “Innovations from the Happiness Science Hub will be first implemented in The Aspen Tree because the project was initially developed to create sustainable physical and mental health for the residents. More importantly, The Aspen Tree targets 50+ residents, making it the perfect place for these innovations to be introduced. In the future, we hope to bring new knowledge and discoveries as well as innovations to the general public. This, we believe, will support further innovation development and application,” said Dr Sarigga. “Happiness Science Hub is the study of behaviours and psychology of people of all ages, the human sensory system, brain signals and scientific tools that create or promote positive feelings and mental well-being. This study will enable us to understand physical and psychological deterioration in seniors. With a deep understanding of such factors, scientists will be able to find ways to reduce or slow down the occurrence of some significant symptoms and diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. In addition, scientists will be able to understand factors that promote happiness, thus ensuring the all-around contentment of people of different ages. This is a new science about which knowledge is still limited and thus requires further study.” Dr Sarigga added, “Happiness science research can be applied to the planning and development of homes, cities and the environment to promote sustainable living. The cooperation among the three partners and the synergy of different expertise will attract more researchers and experts to join forces to study and make discoveries about our brains and happiness-promoting factors.” In carrying out this research and to support further innovation development, RISC will be working with researchers, innovators, experts and partners in many fields, including the Brain-computer Interface Lab (BCI) of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Department under the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management, Mahidol University, the Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation of King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi, Chulalongkorn Hospital’s Neuroscience Research Center, and Srinakarinwirot University’s Behavioral Science Research Institute. Baycrest, which has more than a century’s experience in geriatric health sciences, will introduce Cogniciti, its proprietary test to detect brain deterioration. This will bring to the cooperation insights and knowledge about the prevention of some brain diseases, primarily found in older people. Residents at The Aspen Tree will also have access to this innovation and expertise. “We are thrilled to be partnering with MQDC in our commitment to offering successful ageing to Thailand with the Aspen Tree community at the Forestias, a pioneer facility in cognitive health and older adult wellness. I believe that the Aspen Tree will change the concept of older adult living in Thailand and perhaps in the world with its innovative living environment, health programs and our focus on groundbreaking scientific research to enhance the programs that we offer our residents,” said Dr Sid Feldman, Associate Professor and Head, Division of Care of the Elderly, University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine and Baycrest’s Chief of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “Baycrest’s experience and expertise in geriatric care is unmatched on the global stage. We look forward to seeing our more than 105-year history of excellence in care, innovation and research have positive impacts on Thailand’s ageing population, solidifying the Aspen Tree as an unprecedented example for other communities aimed at older adults.” “With the cooperation with RISC and The Aspen Tree, we will together develop Cogniciti in the Thai language, which will be our third language. This will be very helpful for people to initially learn about the health of their brains,” Dr Feldman added. Reports from Statista forecast that the global aged population will grow from 20-30% of the entire global population in 2020 to 30-40% in 2050, meaning one in six people will be a senior. The Lancet Public Health journal also published a report in 2022, forecasting that by 2050, the number of people with dementia will grow by 166% from 2019. In Thailand, about 20% of its population in 2022 was older than 60 years, and this will increase to 40% of the total population in 2050. Alarmingly, the number of people living with dementia in Thailand is expanding rapidly and is expected to grow by 257% in the next 30 years.