A Smart Home Application to Eldercare: Current Status and Lessons Learned
By Skubic, Marjorie; Alexander, Gregory; Popescu, Mihail; Rantz, Marilyn; Keller, James; Technology and Health Care, Vol. 17, pp. 183-201Publication Date: 2009
Paper describes ongoing work investigating a passive sensor network for monitoring older adults in their homes. The network monitors residents in an aging in place eldercare facility which houses seniors ranging in age from 70 to 95 years with chronic conditions including arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and the potential for stroke. Several residents use a walker, a wheelchair, or a cane. Installed in 17 apartments at the facility, the network includes simple passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors, video sensors, and a bed sensor that captures sleep restlessness and pulse and respiration levels. Sensor data are transmitted wirelessly to a data monitor PC located in each resident’s apartment and subsequently sent to a dedicated central server for storage. A secure web-based interface is used to display the sensor data for health care providers and other authorized users. Continuous long term sensor data collection allows the researchers to study the data and develop algorithms for identifying alert conditions such as falls, as well as extracting typical daily activity patterns for an individual, patterns which, when deviating from the norm, can act as early detectors of potential health problems. Examples are shown of logged sensor data with correlated references to health events, and a summary is included on the challenges encountered and the lessons learned during monitoring of the aging adults in their homes.
Published by: IOS Press (Website:http://www.iospress.nl)
Link to text: http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/THC-2009-0551
