The LAUGH project are delighted to announce they are almost there with their aim to get HUG manufactured and commercially available.

HUG by LAUGH, which looks like a soft toy on the outside, is a sensory device designed to bring pleasure and comfort to people living with dementia. It is designed to be cuddled and has a beating heart. It can play music that can be easily changed to a favourite playlist.

HUG has been developed over the last five years from the LAUGH project, a dementia research project at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Their most recent study, funded by the Welsh Government, has shown that HUG can really make a big difference to the quality of life of people living with advanced dementia.

The aim has always been to get HUGs to the people that need them most; people living with dementia and those who are anxious, lonely or depressed.

The LAUGH project set up a business, HUG by LAUGH, and have a manufacturer waiting for them to place their first order.

A crowdfunding campaign has now been launched for HUG and the aim is to raise £10,000 by September 23rd.

The LAUGH project hope the crowdfunding campaign will enable them get HUGs into hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Last year we reported on a successful trial of HUG at a Cardiff care home.

Speaking at time, Alison Webb, whose mother Margaret had being living with dementia for ten years, said “Mum was just getting, all I can describe is, kind of slipping further and further away.

“Every time I came to visit I seemed to be losing a bit more of her.

“I walked in and mum was holding the HUG in the dining room and her face was just happy. She was just comfortable and happy and almost kind of serene really. It was just lovely. It was just so nice to see.

“The thought of your loved one kind of slipping away and maybe just slipping away for good is just terrifying. So to see her actually coming back is just amazing. It’s just brilliant.”

The LAUGH project told us in an email “We are also aware that HUG has the potential to help all kinds of other people who are lonely, isolated and in need of a cuddle.”

To support the crowdfunding campaign and even pre-order a HUG, go to crowdfunder.co.uk/hug-by-laugh-1