Tracking your elders may seem like a futuristic invasion of privacy but as societies face the issue of a greying population that demands on health care services that extend into the home, 24/7 surveillance is set to become as common as the presence of a TV screen.
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Technology-based care for elders is a rapidly emerging field at the intersection of engineering, medicine, biology, care-giving, and family life. The management of the multidisciplinary problem of caring for elders requires organizations that bring together experts and practitioners.
Technology such as sensors and apps that assist in monitoring the movements and health of individuals in their home or away from the clinic are rapidly being developed and trialled.
In Australia, CSIRO researchers have been extensively trialling an app that allows elderly people to live at home safely for longer by subtly collecting data on their movements around the house.
The CSIRO’s Smarter, Safer Homes project, currently being tried in regional NSW, involves placing simple sensors such as motion detectors and energy sensors around the home to monitor an elderly person. The data is collated and reported back to family members or carers.
Pressure on affordable aged care facilities and hospital facilities and resources are driving the push to find new ways to make it safer for the elderly to live at home for as long as possible and with maximum assistance courtesy of technology.
The ultimate goal of continuous monitoring is to provide information and data to support decisions to intervene by various caregivers and clinicians. By facilitating early detection and diagnosis of declines in some functions such as sleeping or eating patterns, will enable a health care provider to administer drugs or design an effective mitigation program that may include changes in diet, physical exercise, balance training, or cognitive exercises.
Research shows that the elderly demonstrate higher levels of health and well-being when they are able to stay at home safely and remain active and socially engaged. The project is currently exploring how the service could be used to detect a person’s propensity to fall, if they are drinking enough water and how their movement patterns may be changing over time.
Motion sensors can detect whether a person rose from bed at the usual time, what kind of appliances are being used and if they are left on or too long. The data is also reported to a tablet device owned by the elderly person, who retains full control over what data gets reported to others and what remains private.
Research on the Australian project is being undertaken by scientists at CSIRO’s research division, called Computational Informatics. “Having big data doesn’t necessarily mean we have good information. This is about garnering smarter information that you can actually act on,” said chief of the new division, Bronwyn Harch.
In some situations, technology may be used to mitigate problems associated with normal or accelerated decline. For example, the detection of non-adherence to taking medications may allow the implementation of an alert system that reminds the patient or a family member to remind them to take medication.
Technology can also help with mood by alleviating some of the triggers of depression or isolation and in trials in the U.S., remote coaching exercises via IPTV can instruct on exercises to maintain cognitive function. Cognitive-health coaching include interventions in the form of adaptive cognitive computer games, novelty exercises, physical exercise, and advice on sleep behaviours.
With the approach to health and wellness management described above, communities can provide continuity of care with fewer resources.
Prompting for coaching messages is automated, and special interfaces with the data are available to family members and clinicians. This type of technology offers a scalable approach to integrating lower cost personnel, as well as motivated patients and family members, into the care team.
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