Technological advances could stem future demand for nursing homes

At least that is his hope, given that improved mobility, independence and ability to remain safely at home improve long-term happiness and even life span for the aged.

All of which suggests that aging baby boomers someday will live like the Jetsons, with technology keeping track of their health and providing ready assistance in everyday life, including helping them to drive and shop.

Dr. Resnick, chief of University of Pittsburgh's Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology and director of Pitt's Institute on Aging, outlined technological ideas, many in the works in his own departments, to allow older people to stay home longer without risking their health and safety.

Read about advanaced heart monitoring, pill reminders, automated doctor to mobile phone perscriptions, vital statistics monitoring and more on the post-gazette

Japan to set up test zone for next-generation wireless technology for seniors

TOKYO: Japan will set up an experimental high-tech wireless zone on one of its islands next year, where sensors will allow doctors to remotely monitor the health of the elderly and alert motorists to nearby pedestrians, a news report said Saturday.

Produce such as vegetables would carry IC tags that could send information such as where they were grown to shoppers' mobile phones, according to Kyodo News agency.
Sensors would monitor the movement of pedestrians and notify nearby drivers, and check the heart rate of elderly people living alone for round-the-clock monitoring by local hospitals, according to the report.

IC tags are tiny computer chips with antennas which can be used to track products.
To test the technology, the government intends to cooperate with telecom carriers, electronics manufacturers, automakers and other companies, the report said. Technology deemed successful will then be offered nationwide.

The wireless zone will likely be set up on the northern island of Hokkaido or southern island chain of Okinawa, where there is less radio wave interference, according to Kyodo. Calls to the ministry for confirmation went unanswered Saturday.

Japan is already a global leader in wireless technology.A 1 billion yen (US$8.7 million; €6.6 million) project in a central Tokyo shopping area uses 1,200 tiny computer chips embedded in lampposts, subway-station ceilings and roads to beam maps and store guides to passers-by

Source: International Herald Tribune

Wicks proposes tagging elderly

Science minister Malcolm Wicks has suggested electronic tags could be used to track elderly people with dementia.

He told the Commons science and technology committee: "Some might benefit from being monitored so that families know they are safe and secure."
While acknowledging the government would need to be sensitive to "avoid a 'Big brother' approach", he suggested the satellite technology - also used to track criminals - could have further applications.

"Satellites currently monitor the planet in a variety of different ways. I'm raising this as an issue for discussion," he told MPs on Wednesday.
"Are there other uses of technology that could benefit society?

"We've got an ageing population with many people frail and many suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer's.

"How can we get the balance right so that these people have the freedom to live their lives, to go out in the community and go shopping?"

Kate Jopling from Help the Aged gave the minister's suggestion a cautious welcome.

"Clearly at first glance these proposals may smack of the 'Big brother' state, but we shouldn't dismiss the potential of new technologies to afford dignity and opportunity to vulnerable older people," she said.

"Help the Aged wants to see more older people with dementia enabled to live as independently as possible in the community, and this might be a way of achieving this whilst minimising some of the risks.

"The key issue would of course be the involvement and consent of the individual, and their family and carers, to ensure that the technology means better care - not just care that's cheaper or more convenient."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, also sounded a sceptical note. She said: "A debate about better care for the elderly is a good thing but technical gimmicks often provide cheap and quick fixes rather than dignified and possibly expensive care."

Forget the nursing home, talk to the television

My Dad was laughing the other week at one of those naff car stickers that read: Be nice to your children, they choose your nursing home.

As he chortled I pointed out that he'd really better heed this message with as much gravitas as his advancing years could muster.

But if a UK technology start-up gets its way, the nursing home could become an increasingly rare phenomenon.

Care homes could be replaced with a broadband-based platform that its makers claim will enable the elderly and the sick to stay in their homes much longer than is currently possible.
Mediagrids has developed a platform that uses broadband, 3G and eventually WiMax, to provide telecare services.

It says its technology goes far beyond the realms of panic buttons and voice-only call centres and will include intelligent monitoring of people in their home to provide preventative care.
People needing care or medical attention will be able to have their homes connected to the system that will monitor their health and check they are not in trouble using digital cameras and interactive communication technology.

So in theory, an elderly person could fall over and the care workers manning the system would know immediately because they could see into the home and talk to the person to assess how much help they need.

It will also apparently be able to remind people to take medication, provide virtual links to medical staff, and allow users and their friends and family to have interactive video chats through their television sets. While the company has yet to sign-up any UK customers, it has appointed a reseller that is piloting the technology with two unnamed NHS trusts.

The idea sounds great in practice but is dependent on healthcare organisations, and individuals, having the requisite broadband connections, and perhaps more importantly being willing to trust such advanced methods of care. As the nation increasingly rebels against 'Big Brother' culture, there are bound to be questions about the invasive nature of the technology. And then there is the challenge of getting elderly people who have never used a computer to accept that they are being looked after by a camera on the bookshelf.

It could take some convincing.

Source: Fromthenewdesk

Smart apartment keeps an eye on the elderly

The Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering has showed off new technologies at CeBIT designed to help elderly people retain their independence and mobility.
The average age in first world societies is continually increasing, and most elderly people prefer to retain their independence as long as possible. But there is an increasing problem with friends and relatives keeping an eye on their loved ones.

Motion detectors, floor coverings with RFID chips and sensors embedded into everyday items can ensure that anyone in trouble receives help in an emergency.
For instance, if a person's walking stick falls onto the floor, the owner is asked if everything is all right through a speaker. If there is no response the emergency services are contacted automatically.

Another example is a cup that can detect drinking motion to monitor liquid intake and warn someone if they should be drinking more fluids.
Eric Ras, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute, demonstrated some of the new developments incorporated into a mini version of an intelligent apartment to vnunet.com.
The concept focuses around establishing a person's habits and routines and flagging a potential problem if there are deviations from these procedures, even if the person is not necessarily aware of them.

The system can respond to these breaks from routine in a variety of ways, either by providing a warning to the person or contacting loved ones or emergency services, depending on the perceived severity of the situation.

From computing

Japan's Next-Gen technologies aid seniors

It makes for a jabber-filled downtown stroll -- getting deluged by chatter over earphones from some 1,200 tiny computer chips embedded in lampposts, subway-station ceilings and road cement, beaming maps, tidbits of history and store guides.
The 1 billion yen (US$8.7 million; euro6.6 million) Japanese government-backed Tokyo Ubiquitous Technology Project spans several blocks of the Ginza district, and similar experimental efforts are under way in several other spots nationwide.

University of Tokyo professor Ken Sakamura says the effort gives a glimpse into the future, when chips on objects and places will become widespread so government offices and private businesses will use them to zip information to passers-by.

"This project is to build an infrastructure for the 21st Century," Sakamura said during a demonstration tour Monday.

Reporters strolled around the Ginza shopping district, dangling from necks special portable devices with a screen and earphones but no keyboard.

Every time we passed by a computer chip, say, at a store or at a showroom, an electronic voice began narrating an explanation.

Stand in front of Mitsukoshi Department Store, and a voice runs down how the statue of a lion in front of the building has long been its trademark.

Cross the street to Nissan Motor Co.'s showroom, and the handheld has automatically switched from receiving information from the chip at the store to a chip at the showroom, and began showing a video of a woman talking.

"Welcome to Nissan Ginza gallery," she says.

Pushing some buttons on the device makes an electronic map, a photo about a landmark's history, or guide to a nearby clinic pop up on the screen.

American cities have expressed interest in the technology, Sakamura said, while refusing to disclose the names of the U.S. cities yet.

Japan is serious about such project as a rapidly aging society likely to need help to guide the elderly, the blind and the handicapped through city streets, Sakamura said.

Japan also sees potential in the service -- now available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean -- to help foreign tourists get around, he said.

Unlike Netsurfing on laptops or mobile phones, the information that comes is automatic and requires no button-pushing, Sakamura says.

The Ginza project uses chips that relay wireless information and RFID, or radio frequency identification, chips, whose information can be bounced back and read if the portable device, which emits radio waves, is brought within inches (centimeters) of the chip.

Today's widespread RFID chips can't be updated. But the chips in Sakamura's project relay information that's constantly updated in computer servers. Next year, he hopes to expand the Ginza project to 10,000 chips.
Sakamura acknowledged the chips could be used for "Big Brother" monitoring, but denied his research had such intentions, vowing: "We do not put tags on people

From ChinaPost

Gadgets for graying set

Baby boomers demand - and get - big-button TV remotes, no-frills cell phones and computers that start with a touch

While conducting a computer seminar recently at Sun City Lincoln Hills, Terry Rooney heard murmurs of approval when he showed off a Windows Vista feature that allows users to magnify selected portions of a Web page.

"They were very impressed," said Rooney, president of the retirement community's computer club. "Being able to easily read the screen is a concern for a lot of people."

Indeed, as the aging American population increasingly peers through reading glasses, fumbles with keys and begins to ponder life with hearing aids, technology companies are gearing up new products or adapting existing ones to capture a potentially huge and profitable demographic -- baby boomers.

Read the entire article on SacBee.com

The gadgets include oversize TV remote controls, simplified cellular phones and computers that ask for a thumbprint instead of a password.

"Baby boomers have driven the economy and consumer demand for about every decade they have existed," said Andrew Carle, director of the Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration program at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "As long as they continue to control the money, they will continue to drive the products that are being developed."

65 the new 30something...

Look who's turning 65. These are the icons the boomer generation grew up with. Now they're becoming senior citizens, and blowing away the tired stereotypes around aging. Welcome to the new face of seniority.

Phil Espoito

Aretha Franklin

Barbara Streisand

Harrison Ford

Read the enture article on the Hamilton Spectator

Brain Training DOES boost brain power

Is the brain like the muscles in your body? Can it be trained with cognitive exercises to improve mental agility and sharpness as you get older?

Quite a bit of research has come out lately indicating that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’.

The most recent research I’ve come across is the ACTIVE study (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), published in the December issue of JAMA (reference below). The amazing findings indicate a mere 10 training sessions (each lasting 60-75 minutes) over a five week period was enough to significantly improve cognitive ability and brain power. Importantly, the brain boosting effect lasted more than five years.

The benefits were actually quite impressive. Dr. Sherry Willis, one of the chief authors of the study, notes: “The improvements seen after training roughly counteract the degree in decline in cognitive performance that we would expect to see over a 7-14 year period among older people without dementia”.

The study included 2,832 participants over the age of 65.

I’ve come across a few interesting brain training programs (mainly for those over 50) and will be posting reviews in the next month or two.

From Sharpen your mental edge

Independence leads list of baby boomers' old-age wishes

Minnesota's baby boomers want exactly what the state's long-term care system lacks: technology and creative programs that will help them remain independent and at home in their frail and elderly years.

That is one of the main conclusions of a study and survey being released today by Ecumen, a Shoreview-based provider of nursing homes and community services for the elderly.

Executives with the organization hope the results will inspire lawmakers and caregivers to try new approaches and programs before the massive boomer generation reaches retirement age.

Nine of 10 boomers in the survey said they want to live in their own homes rather than in rental apartments or nursing facilities. Most of the 564 survey respondents, ages 42 to 60, said they would pay more for a long-term care system that provides better community services.

"Boomers are saying, 'Give us some more options,' " said Eric Schubert, Ecumen's communications director. " 'Help us live where we want to live, how we want to live.' "

Read the entire article on St. Paul Pioneer Press

High-tech 'smart' community planned

Blueroof Technologies, a McKeesport nonprofit, presented city officials this week with a plan to develop an "independence zone" that they said would see McKeesport grow as a leading independent living community for senior citizens in the state.

The organization built a model home in McKeesport last year and displayed how a two-story, wood-frame house could be converted into a hi-tech home designed to enhance independent living for the disabled and elderly. Now it is proposing to build at least 20 such homes in McKeesport in the next few years.

The project will be the foundation of a research and development campus known as the Blueroof Smart Cottage Research and Development Center, Blueroof Executive Director John Bertoty said.

"We already have a model house in the zone," Mr. Bertoty said. "We're now looking at how we can expand on what we have already shown we can do to create an independent living community."

The proposed McKeesport Independence Zone will be a 10-acre development in the city's 3rd Ward, stretching from Walnut and Jenny Lind streets to Penny Street and Wigham Avenue.

Blueroof has partnered with the Quality of Life Technology Center, a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh that is dedicated to researching quality of life issues. It plans to build a "cluster community" of cottages in McKeesport that are affordable and equipped with the technology to meet the needs of challenged individuals, Mr. Bertoty said.

"We are very excited about this program," McKeesport Administrator Dennis Pittman said.

"Blueroof wants to make McKeesport a working laboratory for research and development, and that is something we are excited to see," he said.

Excerpts from post-gazzette.com

Technology helps seniors live independently

My mother had an aneurysm when I was in high school...luckily she survived and is living to date. She still lives in the house we grew up in alone....but likes it that way. So I keep my eye out for new technologies, services or social activities which make her life better.

Here's an old article from the FairfaxDigital "Technology helps elderly live alone" which highlights talking washing machines, mirrors that double as television screens and a virtual gardens.