The FRDS was set up to provide one-off financial support to public or private hospitals or clinics, or associations, caring for people with neurodegenerative diseases, by financing new infrastructures or supporting new projects, so that these institutions can provide better patient support and care, and thus improve their quality of life and that of their family caregivers, with the view to provide them with an alternative source of funding.
Any project aiming to provide better care for these diseases or improve the quality of life of sufferers and their families may be submitted by email to hc.sdrf@ofni.
Projects supported by the Foundation include:
Infrastructure
The first category covers infrastructure projects such as construction of buildings bringing together psychiatric services, neurodevelopment consultations services, housing child and juvenile psychiatric services, accommodating families in respite rooms, organizing workshops for people suffering from severe mental disabilities or living facilities for people with autism.
Equipment procurement
The second category covers grants awarded for the purchase of equipment at the request of state or private hospitals or universities. This shall include magnetic resonance equipment, electronic microscopes, surgical robots, eye-tracking computers for the speech-impaired and the mobility-impaired people, and specialized chairs.
Research, information and dissemination of knowledge
The third category of projects supported by the Foundation is the funding for research projects. This shall include a multidimensional and multidisciplinary research project into the brain plasticity of premature new-borns, a pre-series of medical devices designed to help in the ultra-early diagnosis of schizophrenia, better detection and understanding of Childhood Coordination Acquisition Disorder, an early screening test for Autism Spectrum Disorder, the implementation of an intervention and identification program for bipolar disorders, a digital device for detecting pain in people with dementia who cannot communicate, and translational research into deep brain simulation.
Training, conferences and support for patients and their families
Lastly, the final category covers projects financed by the Foundation involving training in various fields such as mental health or cognitive rehabilitation, the organization by various associations of caregivers’ respite stays or weekends for the families of sick children or adults, or to the creation of artistic contributions and performances in hospitals.