Frail seniors embrace home monitoring

When John Fowlkes’s adult daughter suggested installing an electronic monitoring system in his apartment to oversee his well-being from afar, “I was very skeptical,” he says. To Fowlkes, 86, who has an active social life including an 80-year-old girlfriend, the idea evoked thoughts of Big Brother.

Mindful that a younger friend had fallen at home and lain on the floor for hours before anyone came to help, Fowlkes, of Raleigh, N.C., gave in. To his surprise, he found the setup “makes you feel more secure.”
Overseeing the aged from afar is a hot issue for working caregivers, and the technology needed to do so is available. But policy makers and others have long fretted that seniors would resist electronic monitoring as an invasion of privacy.

Now, Big Brother has arrived — and seniors are rolling out the welcome mat. As vendors make in-home monitoring systems widely available, seniors are mounting little resistance, and many are embracing the gadgetry as an aid to remaining independent.

Home-monitoring customers total a few thousand nationwide, according to half a dozen monitoring companies I surveyed. The most common systems use wireless motion or contact sensors on doorways, windows, walls, ceilings, cabinets, refrigerators, appliances or beds to track seniors’ movements. Temperature sensors gauge heat and air conditioning. If an elderly person enters the bathroom and doesn’t come out, or other typical activity patterns aren’t recorded in the home, word can be sent to family members, 24-hour response workers or both. The systems also offer hand-held or wearable “panic buttons.”

The QuietCare system used by Fowlkes is monitored by response workers. His daughter, Alisa Washington, who lives nearby, receives e-mail updates several times a day at work. She says it gives her “much greater peace of mind.”

Seniors draw the line at some kinds of surveillance. Many protest against the presence of video cameras, says DR. Majd Alwan, who conducted several small studies of monitoring systems as a professor at the University of Virginia. They see motion and contact sensors as less invasive, says Alwan, now director of the Center for Aging Services Technologies, Washington, D.C., a nonprofit research group.

See CantonRep.com

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

New Interactive Television To Assist Patients And Elderly

In this day and age, who wants their elderly parents [actually] living with them, when they could just turn on the TV and check on them in between commercials? Plus, if there's a problem you can just call your doctor and have him watch them on TV as well.

Telecommunications engineer at the Public University of Navarre, Alejandro Fanjul Fernández, has designed a pioneering system of telemedicine for interactive digital television. This system enables the monitoring and treatment of and support for both patients and elderly people, from the comfort and convenience of their homes, by means of the television. This is the first tele-assistance system in Spain for interactive digital television and a number of companies and government bodies have expressed interest in marketing the application...

This designed tele-assistance system, known as ATS-Interactiva, focuses its services on the monitoring and treatment of and support for patients by means of television. To this end, every so often, a series of check-ups and medication reminders are carried out, which at the same time enable a channel of communication to be opened up between the health care professional and the patient...

Through a complex system of data treatment and interactivity with the patient, the ATS-Interactiva system enables doctors to have a complete system of monitoring of patients at hand at all times, enabling them to assess patients' progress through the observation of their vital signs: weight, pulse, blood pressure, glucose level and so on.

This application may be of great utility for undertaking the monitoring of patients who are convalescing in a post-operative recovery stage but who can carry out their basic functions in an independent manner. It is also of great interest to those elderly persons who require a minimum of control and monitoring of their state of health on a daily basis. The progress of these persons may be followed without them having to be transferred to a health clinic or hospital - the monitoring being undertaken simply from their sitting-room sofa using the TV remote control.
Moreover, for the over 60s who watch more than 4 1/2 hours of TV daily, the system has an application known as an "interactive dosifier" that provides a personalised reminder for the administration of medicines. In this way, when the patient is due to take medication, the system emits a sound signal and a nurse appears on the TV screen to remind the patient of what has to be taken and a complete description or written recommendation from the doctor on how it should be taken.

The system also enables communication between the patient and the doctor through interactive messages or by electronic mail, again using the TV set. Today the possibility of communicating with the doctor has become vital in the treatment of any kind of ailment. This creates genuine patient-health care professional trust when dealing with a possible health problem.

The application of tele-assistance, moreover, does not interfere with television viewing, as the screen can be minimised or left in the background of the TV screen in such a way that, while the system is operating, TV programmes continue to be seen, the system information appearing in the foreground only when the patient has to be reminded or she or he requests information.
The ATS-Interactiva identifies the patient by means of an intelligent card, in such a way that he or she may locate to a different town and the monitoring can continue, as long as the intelligent card is carried on their person and connected to a receptor where the ATS-Interactiva application is available. In principle the emission of the system over a specific TV channel is being considered
More at ScienceDaily. . .

Source: Medgadget

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

AgeSpan offers Virtual Visitation for family members in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Centers, and Veterans Administration Hospitals

AgeSpan, a senior Internet enabling solution for seniors in the United States, unveiled their SAM (Senior Assisted Monitoring) Cam solution for combating nursing home abuse and monitoring health conditions in VA Hospitals. Working on this solution for the past 6 years, AgeSpan had to overcome the many cons associated with the use of cameras in assisted living centers and nursing homes. Complicated daily maintenance tasks, high hardware costs, and infringement of privacy are examples of the obstacles that groups against video surveillance in nursing homes repeated over and over again as things that needed to be addressed and fixed. Fortunately for them, as the technology progressed these obstacles were eliminated.

While working on the camera solution, AgeSpan also discovered that the camera is a perfect solution for satisfying virtual visitation needs by the family members and nurses that are contracted to visit the elderly in their homes while overseeing such things as their eating and medicinal habits. This solution allows seniors to continue an independent life in their current home, reduce their future living expenses, and make it possible for seniors to live near their families, but not with them.

With this advanced camera technology, complimented by AgeSpan's in-house ability to engineer, furnish, and install the customer's requested configuration for a turnkey solution, these negatives have turned into positives. Craig German, an AgeSpan representative, recently said: "The latest camera technology allows the end-user to see in low to no-light conditions allowing for night time viewing, much like we've seen in video sent to us by CNN of the Gulf War. In addition, this same camera can take a picture at a prescribed time or an event, via it built-in motion detection features, and then e-mail the picture to a responsible party so that they can view it on the new cell phones, PCs, or laptops anywhere in the world! With the camera's fast video frame rates you won't get those robotic-like video pictures anymore that web cameras provide."

Source: eMediaWire

Phone for seniors slows down voices

NTT DoCoMo’s new mobile phone for the elderly actually looks rather appealing.

The Raku-Raku Phone Basic is the latest in a very successful line of functional, but usually dull, handsets aimed at making the senior population feel part of the mobile generation here. And at getting them to open their wallets once a month, of course.

The newcomer, which will go on sale in April for about ¥20,000, was designed by Kenya Hara, the art director of Muji and features plenty to keep granny (and some tech writers) happy.

Most unusual is the ‘Slow Voice’ feature, which – as you might guess – slows down the spoken words coming through the earpiece for easy listening. Then there’s ‘Clear Voice’ noise detection, which takes account of surrounding noise levels and adjusts the earpiece and ringtone volume to suit.

On top of that, the silver set gets an automated voice that reads out onscreen text from email or web pages and announces incoming caller identities and a pedometer that can work out daily calorie consumption.

Although there’s no camera, the Raku-Raku Phone basic weighs just 103g, has a 2.4in screen, a standby time of up to a staggering 560 hours and a certain elderly chic that guarantees success in this rapidly graying nation.

From Digital World Tokyo

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."

simple + computer + TV = Apple TV

My mother who is handicapped and vision imparied is awaiting the arrival of Apple TV. As its released, I'll update you on her installation and usage as an example of senior tech which improves life.

From Apple

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

Fitness for your brain...

"I was surprised how much plasticity, how much flexibility older brains have, because the general belief up until a decade ago was that brains deteriorated as we age. That's not true," he says.

Not true at all. Plasticity is the actual strengthening of connections between neurons, stopping, yes, even reversing memory loss. Physical exercise helps, and so do mental exercises.

"The brain is actually revising itself. It is actually plastically changing itself as you develop new skills and abilities, as you learn new things," says Mike Merzenich, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

Merzenich has, in many ways, turned neuroscience on its head by championing this idea of plasticity. He has started a company called Posit Science that has developed a computer program called Brain Fitness, which is commercially available for about $400. Program users exercise their brain by doing thousands of different mental tasks per hour. The goal is a younger, more active mind.

Seniors at Leisure Cares' Heritage Estates community in California say Posit Science's brain fitness programs have made a difference.

"It stimulates your brain and really makes you remember and want to remember," says Grace Curran, one of the residents.

To be clear, says Gupta, what Merzenich is selling hasn't been independently proven to work. But a recent study in the journal of the American Medical Association says the benefits of cognitive training like this can last five years.

Without question, there are already lots of good reasons to exercise. But now we know you may be training the most important "muscle" of all: your brain.

From CBS Evening News

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

New technology tested to help European retirees

A new project, part funded by the EU, could allow more people who have retired abroad to stay in their new homes rather than having to go into residential care.

Tunstall, a company which specialises in telecare and telehealth solutions, has been chosen to head up the new Service Orientated Programmable Smart Environments for Older Europeans (SOPRANO) project.

The €12 million project hopes to find technological solutions to the problems which will be faced by people as they get older.

Running for the next three and a half years, and featuring 20 partners from six European countries, the project will seek to "develop affordable, smart IT-based assisted living services aimed at promoting independence for older people".

"Against a background of accelerating demographic ageing across Europe, the latest telecare and telehealth solutions will play a pivotal role in helping to relieve some of the growing pressure on healthcare providers," said Mike Hodges, research and development director at Tunstall.

"The low-level, round-the-clock care provided by telecare technology offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional care, while also ensuring users get the support they need in the familiarity of their home environment."

Telecare projects have previously been trailed successfully for patients suffering from dementia, but this is one of the largest European projects to test the viability of installing devices in the homes of older European citizens.

From Retire from the Sun

The Intelligent Apartment

Intelligent assisted living systems are the focus of the presentation of Fraunhofer IESE at this year's CeBIT in Hanover. A miniature version of the institute's own Assisted Living Laboratory will give visitors interesting insights into state-of-the-art research in this highly practice-relevant area. The goal is to enable elderly persons or those requiring care to remain longer in their own homes, living a self-determined life with the support of ultra-modern information technology. Fraunhofer IESE can be found in building 9 at booth B36 (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) and at the booth of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF, B40.

It happens when you least expect it: A sudden circulatory weakness makes an elderly person dizzy and results in a fall. But the intelligent apartment becomes active immediately: In a realistic simulation across two fair booths, visitors can experience how the senior citizen's walking aid recognizes the accident, how the home automation system attempts on its own to communicate with the patient, and how it finally alerts the "Emergency Medical Dispatch Office". Medical experts estimate that, in the regional environment of IESE, this technique could already be used every day to save accident victims from suffering the more serious consequences of an accident.

The Assisted Living Lab, which is being introduced at the booths of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and BMBF, is indeed a very special kind of laboratory environment. What appears to be hardly different from a normal living environment is equipped throughout with sophisticated sensors and electronic data processing. The objective of this effort: An apartment that proactively reacts in case of emergencies and that offers its resident the correct help at precisely the correct time, depending on the situation.

Equipment that captures data, such as RFID chips in the floor covering, motion sensors in the rooms, or everyday-type items equipped with sensors, are only parts of a much more complex overall system. The real core of the system is the software-supported networking and interpretation of the data provided by the sensors in accordance with current medical knowledge. Only this combination makes practical, context-sensitive support from the home automation system realistic.

The research performed at Fraunhofer IESE in the area of assisted living systems concentrates on the systems engineering of environments that independently recognize and assess situations on their own, based on networked sensor data. In a very general sense, this means that people are relieved of routine tasks and thus have more time for creativity. Furthermore, dangers can be averted. This should lead to cost savings not only in the health sector. Elderly persons and those requiring care will benefit from this in a particular way through better care" an obligation for society, whose importance should increase due to the demographic changes in society.

From Medical News Today

Motion sensors, virtual dinner companions and a talking pill could help baby boomers age more independently.

Today, motion sensors can monitor the comings and goings of elderly Americans so they can live safely and independently in their own homes.
One day soon, a cellular telephone will detect any new quaver in the voice, and a cuff link will notice any worrisome change of gait.

Eventually a talking computer screen will tell the elderly whether they should take an aspirin for a headache -- considering their 12 or 16 or 20 other medications.

Yesterday's science fiction is tomorrow's assisted living, say prognosticators now watching 77 million baby boomers grow old.

The boomers' wish to age independently has businesses jumping in with a host of new products and services. The businesses include giants such as Intel and Pfizer as well as Minnesota enterprises such as Shoreview-based Ecumen, a nonprofit with senior housing centers in 80 communities, and HealthSense in Mendota Heights, which sells a monitoring system it calls eNeighbor.

And for good reason: One projection has the digital home-health market growing 36 percent a year, to $2.1 billion in 2010. And the United States is behind Europe and Japan when it comes to developing such technologies.

To help new technology reach Minnesota seniors, Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, plans to introduce a bill Monday with tax credits of up to $1,000 for assistive technologies -- everything from telephone amplifiers to devices yet to be imagined -- that help them stay in their homes.

Read the entire article in the StarTribube.com

Technology aims to keep elderly in own homes

Cutting-edge technology is helping hundreds of people in Fenland (England) lead independent lives by allowing them to remain, where possible, in their own homes.

The technology not only gives confidence and peace of mind to the users but also to carers who feel less anxious knowing it is in place.

And the huge transformations it is making to the lives of both young and old gives Margi Fosh great job satisfaction.

From simple tools to sophisticated sensors, technology is being used 24 hours a day, reducing the need for hospital stays and residential care home places.

"Each referral is unique and is assessed as such," Margi explained. "Systems should not be introduced simply because the technology exists, only if it adds delivery of care and confidence."

Technology is being used to help people of all ages with both mental and physical problems. "We build up a picture of what each individual needs and research what products are available to help that person," said Margi. "It is not a one-size-fits-all thing."

Even something as simple as a special clock can make a difference to users. Margi said: "Imagine how debilitating it is not to know what day of the week it is. This can lead to increased anxiety and confusion, which could be prevented by the use of a simple orientation device - a calendar clock."

The clock displays the time and date, the day of the week and whether it is am or pm.

Automated pill boxes are commonly used for those with poor memory who take time-critical medication. The box can be set to deliver timed medication and will sound an alarm when it is due. Once the medication is taken out the pill box, the alarm stops and will reset ready for the next dose of medication. The box can be filled by a pharmacist or family member.

Excert from Cambs Times

'Intelligent' homes designed to help the elderly

Scientists in Toronto say they have are developing artificially intelligent computer systems to help elderly people suffering from memory loss stay safely in their own homes.

"Often when a person gets moderate to severe levels of impairment, they are taken out of their home and put into a care facility," says lead scientist Dr. Alex Mihailidis, a mechanical and biomedical engineer and researcher at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

"We are using artificial intelligence to support aging-in-place so that people can remain in their homes for as long as possible."

Mihailidis and his research team at the Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab, a joint venture of Toronto Rehab and the University, say they are the first in the world to test home-based artificial intelligence systems in clinical trials.

More than 750,000 Canadians will have Alzheimer's or a related dementia by the year 2031, the researchers say.

The systems are designed to enhance the safety of such people living at home, the researchers say.

One of their creations is a "talking" bathroom outfitted with a computer screen that provides video and verbal cues to assist with hand washing.

Clifford Solway sometimes needs some prompting for certain tasks. "I have a tendency to forget things," he admits.

However, in the intelligent home, a computer voice would prompt him.

Read the entire article in CTV.ca

Words from Michael Arrington

Michael's the author of a very popular technology blog called TechCrunch. He writes Do Older People Really Need Separate Internet Sites?

Building specialized websites and services for the older crowd has been popular lately. First we had Eons, the social network for people over 50. Founder Jeff Taylor is too young, at 45, to use his own site. Perhaps being out of touch with his target demographic has been what’s led Eons to mediocrity (Alexa, Compete) since launch. Next we had Presto, a combination printer (made by HP) and web service that basically faxes emails to loved ones who don’t have computers. Older people are featured prominently in its marketing materials.

Today the parent company of Eons has announced cRANKy, a search engine for people over 50 that compliments their Eons social network. The site indexes about 5,000 sites that Compete.com says are popular with people over 45, and focuses on less results because “the Eons Generation doesn’t like to wade through millions of search results.”

I frankly don’t think any of these products will be successful. Not because the demographic they’re targeting isn’t large, but rather because these people are quite Internet savvy already and don’t need hand-holding and condescension. In the case of cRANKy, if less results is appealing to older people, the same would be the case for everyone. People like relevant results and lots of them. And if your search engine isn’t very deep, it’s a flaw, not a feature.

What do you think?