AssistData, platform that facilitates the acquisition of assistive products for people with disabilities

Ferran Benito on 14 March 2025

Website that manages and supplies assistive products for people with disabilities.

The AssistData platform provides citizens and professionals with information on assistive products and resources for people with disabilities. Through AssistData, suppliers from the technology, health, and social services sectors describe and detail information about available products, with the goal of facilitating access for those who need them.

The AssistData database groups items according to the international standard ISO 9999, which classifies assistive products by type and function. The website has a search engine that allows users to search for products of interest using keywords that refine the search and ensure a personalized result. Additionally, it has a classification of specific resources targeted at people with a particular disability or illness. The platform offers the possibility to save desired items so they can be registered in the account of the person who needs them.

Each product includes a description of its main features, an informational PDF document on the method of use, different visual resources to aid understanding of its functionality, and, in some cases, the price. This data, along with the supplier’s contact information, is provided and updated by the various product suppliers. By 2023, the platform had 51,351 assistive devices and 953 Danish suppliers. The products have the CE certificate, which indicates that they meet the essential health, safety, and environmental protection requirements established by the European Union.

AssistData also offers other useful resources, such as guides on the general use and maintenance of assistive technology, a forum for interacting and sharing experiences with other users. It also facilitates access to European safety and quality standards and directives related to assistive products. Additionally, it streamlines the purchasing process for professionals responsible for the public procurement of assistive products through templates that reduce administrative burden and ensure compliance with European regulations related to product quality.

Characteristics of innovation

Bank of innovations, Disability, Personalization of the service, Right of choice of the user, Self-management and participation, User empowerment

Location

Denmark

Partners/ Founders

Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing

Genesis

AssistData was created to address the need for platforms that provided an overview of assistive products for people with disabilities available on the market. In response to this, between 1988 and 1989, AssistData began collecting and organizing products into a database, with the aim of publishing them in printed catalogs and as CSV files, which were imported into inventory management systems. In 2000, the data was published on the internet, and online data collection began. By around 2007, the data was being used by almost all municipalities in Denmark.

Implementation level

In recent years, the AssistData website has had an average of approximately 65,000 visits. Although these figures do not cover the total use of the platform, as AssistData’s data is also published as open data and used through other interfaces.