by Hobie Canton, Jack Gilbert, Liv McGuinness, Toby Penrose, Zofia Sek, Georgia Wilsher-Mills
Project Overview:
Blue Note tackles the UK’s mental health crisis by turning music into a prescription. Our app leverages the physiological benefits of music, which can increase dopamine and reduce cortisol. By integrating this into treatment, we aim to improve patient outcomes and help lower the NHS’s annual overspend of more than £43 million on antidepressants.
Using government funding allocated to the NHS, we will pay artists when their music is linked to positive changes in patients’ blood chemistry. To measure this in real time and ensure fast payments, we have developed wearable devices
that analyse blood chemicals as they change. Prescribed music from Blue Note connects to the wearable, which monitors key metrics including dopamine, cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Rewarding artists for clinically meaningful changes not only recognises their impact but also encourages them to create more therapeutic music. The app will also offer community features, enabling patients to connect with others through music.
Artist involvement is essential to Blue Note’s effectiveness. Without their music, the platform cannot operate, so we are committed to paying artists fairly and competitively for their work.
