World class environment for

In the future, home-based care will become increasingly important all over the world. Not only does this provide one way to keep costs under control as the proportion of elderly people in the population rises, but research also shows that most people prefer the option of receiving reliable, highquality care in their own home.

Today there is a growing demand for products and services to meet the needs of this kind of care. The Twin Cities of Sweden offer the best possible conditions for an expansion in this field. A long tradition of advanced care in the domestic environment, Sweden's top-rated medical training and a host of well-established and highly successful research centres provide the firmest of foundations on which to build. The region also hosts a number of the leading names in IT and medical technology. In addition, our hospitals, one of which is a university research hospital, and local municipalities have good insights into future needs.

A unifying arena
New Tools for Health (Hälsans Nya Verktyg: HNV) is a regional growth initiative that serves as a hub for developing solutions to meet the growing needs within community care services. The main focus is on   effective care in the home. Membership of HNV opens the door to an extensive network of regional, national and international players, and members include representatives from both the public and private sectors.

Unique testbed environment
There are also plenty of prominent actors involved in the unique test environment that is known as 'New Homes for Health' (Hälsans nya hem). One of the residential areas that constitute the New Homes for Health testbed is Ljura in Norrköping, where Norrköping Science Park is collaborating with HNV and the local housing company, Hyresbostäder. The testbed provides both researchers and companies with an opportunity to test and verify their ideas for products and services in a genuine domestic environment. Testing a product or service here can be a useful way for a company to familiarise itself with the regional development environment before establishing a local presence.