METS 2014

SMART HOME FOR THE ELDERLY – A SOLUTION TO INDEPENDENT

LIVING AND HEALTHCARE

Eugene WuPrincipal Engineer and Sr. Quality Consultant, BioTeknica, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Email: ewu@bioteknica.com

METS 2014

METS 2014

The Big Picture• Aging Population world wide - nearly 7%

of the world’s population is now over 65 years of age.

• By 2050, 1 in 5 person in the world will be age 60 or older.

• Increasing cost of living - more difficult and costly each year for the elderly.

• Challenge - 95 percent of US adults aged 65 and older reside in private households.

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Cost of Assisted Living

National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan)http://eng.stat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=3458&CtNode=1597&mp=5

Income & Cost / Year

US Taiwan

Average Annual Income

$50,054NT$ 1,140,271

($38,000)

Average Annual Cost for Assisted Living

$42,600NT$ 300,000

($10,000)

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Ambient Assisted Living- Smart Home • Smart Home is a living environment integrated with

sensors, wireless networks, and other monitoring devices to a system capable of partially replacing a human caretaker.

• Inside a Smart Home, the elderly retain control of their environment and activities to improve their autonomy, health, well-being, and sense of dignity.

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Components and Infrastructure• Integrated sensors & actuators. • Signal (data) processing and transmitting.• Network.

http://lifesciences.ieee.org/articles/349-ambient-assisted-living-tools-help-older-adults-live-more-independently

• Monitoring and supporting.

• Health professional intervention.

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Safety Requirements

• Fall detection*

• Gas and fire hazards prevention

• Security

* In US, $30 billion per year in medical cost for fall related injury

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Fall Detection• Posture Recognition - Computer vision fall

detection (Yu M. et al., IEEE Trans Inf Technol Biomed. 2012 Nov;16(6):1274-86)• ZigBee - A wireless sensor node worn on the

waist continuously detects fall events (Chih-Ning Huang and

Chia-Tai Chan Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 4233-4248)• Face Tracking - image processing technique to

compare several images for tracking (Philippe Katz, Michael

Aron, and Ayman Alfalou, 2013 SPIE)• Video Based - two cameras to determine the

direction of the main axis of the body (Lykele Hazelho, et

al., University of Technology Eindhoven, the Netherlands)• Smart Phone Based - acts like a pocket-sized

motion laboratory (Lorenzo Chiari, Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und

Geriatrie, 2012)

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Radio Wave Tracking – MIT WiTrack

F. Adib, et al., 3D Tracking via Body Radio Reflections Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Network Fire / Security Alarm Systems

http://www.mircom.com/smart-home-automation.html

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Health and Wellness Requirements• Wellness Monitoring

– Wearable

– Non-wearable

• Telemedicine and Telehealth

• Medication Compliance

• Cognition Simulation, Entertainment, and Social Connectedness

• Wander off: GPS Tracking System

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Wellness Monitoring (1 of 3)

• 9Solutions - a bluetooth application can save activities, call for help, and send an alarm.

• AIQ Smart Clothing - smart textiles for vital sign, skin temperature, skin moisture, and electrophysiological signals monitoring.

• Metria Wearable Sensor use skin-friendly adhesive for remote health and wellness, sports and fitness, and cardiac monitoring (available in the U.S.)

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Wellness Monitoring (2 of 3)• BodyTel Device include a blood glucose

meter, a blood pressure meter, and scales with built-in Bluetooth module to inform doctor.

• Danfoss PolyPower A/S is an electro-active polymer measures human body motions, breathing, swelling, and posture.

• Imec's wearable electroencephalography (EEG) headset and EKG patch keep tabs on user’s brain and heart activity.

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Wellness Monitoring (3 of 3) • Moticon wireless sensor insole can

be used in shoes to measure the distribution and motion parameters for patients and athletes.

• Nuubo is a new-generation wireless and remote cardiac monitoring platform.

• TmG-BMC Muscle Contraction Sensor monitors muscle fatigue for injury prevention and rehabilitation monitoring

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AMD Global Telemedicine Devices• Reliable medical devices deliver superior

quality medical images and data• Devices are standards-based capable of

integrating with other third party devices• Devices include:

– Examination Cameras– Medical Scopes & Camera/Illumination Systems– Stethoscopes– Vital Signs Monitors– ECGs, Spirometers, and Holters– Retinal Camera– Ultrasound Probes

http://www.amdtelemedicine.com/telemedicine-equipment/medical-devices.html

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Philips Telehealth

•

Patient at Home Philips Secure Data Infrastructure

Telehealth NurseMulti-Disciplinary Care Team

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Medication: e-pill Dispenser• e-pill Med-O-Wheel SMART Portable Automatic Pill

Dipenser (PD2)• Clinically tested, e-pill Med-O-Wheel SMART (SKU

870715) gives the right medication at the right time

in the right dose. This is a portable automatic pill dispenser and may be used outside the home. Features a unique 180 minute medication window for each dose (60 minutes silent / 120 minutes alarm - then closed)

http://www.epill.com/medowheel.html

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Cognition Simulation and Entertainment• BrightBrainer™ is a research tool to quantify

the levels of Cognitive Deficit and evaluate the effect of bimanual Integrative Cognitive Exercising in individuals with full or partial upper limb mobility.

http://brightbrainer.com/the-product/

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SenioramaFounded in 2009, Softarama Ltd created Seniorama™, an innovative senior-friendly user interface operating system that enables the elderly and the disabled to utilize basic computer applications such as Email, Internet,

Photo Gallery, Skype™, and many other applications.

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Wander off: GPS Tracking System• A real-time tracker devices that provides

live locational information for family members to locate their senior.

• The devices can transmit alerts to family members if a senior wanders off from any pre-designated safe zones.

http://www.tracking-system.com/for-consumers/gps-elderly-tracking-system.html

• A panic button gives the senior the ability to call out for help.

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Current Smart Home Studies - US• MIT’s AgeLab: Focuses on Intelligent Adaptive Devices

for Independent Living.• University of Florida “Smart Home”: Comprises a fully

furnished living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, with a wide array of experimental assistive-living devices

• Aware Home Research Initiative: This is a multi-disciplinary research program at Georgia Institute of Technology that addresses the challenges posed by future domestic technologies.

• Duke Smart Home Program: The Duke Smart Home Program is a research-based approach to smart living sponsored by the Pratt School of Engineering.

http://www.ict-ageing.eu/?page_id=491

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Japan• One of the first demonstration homes, the TRON

Intelligent House, was established in Nishi Azabu in 1989.

• In 2004, Toyota Dream House PAPI was set up, though this house emphasized saving energy and comfort rather than independent living.

• Current home networking infrastructure, the “Net Kaden” system (”Kaden” means home electrical appliances), is for electronic control and monitoring of homes through links with mobile phone and high-speed broadband systems.

http://www.ict-ageing.eu/?page_id=489

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Germany• inHaus: Established by the Fraunhofer

institute, the inHaus GmbH, and the Ambient Assisted Living GmbH.

• SmartHome Paderborn: Initiated by a consortium featuring a number of technology providers, craft businesses, and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) providers.

• OFFIS apartment for older people (ideAAL): Has the goal of developing an integrated solution for the ageing society.

http://www.ict-ageing.eu/?page_id=489

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Conclusion• Increasing aging population world wide

requires new solutions for senior care.

• Increasing cost of living has to be addressed for elderly living.

• Majority of the elderly people reside in private households promotes in-house alternative care.

• Smart home is an alternative option to traditional assisted living.

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Q & A

Modern technology savvy generation is better prepared to adopt smart home concept