Researchers Advance Remote Monitoring Systems for the Elderly

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 12:49PM

Assistive technologies are old hat, but a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (among other institutions) is working to provide a more robust, all-inclusive option for elderly individuals who'd prefer to age gracefully within their own domiciles. In theory, sensors could be embedded throughout seniors' homes in order to "detect when the residents have sleepless nights or forget to take their medication." From there, caregivers would be alerted and could react remotely via a web-based communications portal. The UTA lab that's perfecting the idea currently utilizes a single room equipped with cameras, motion detectors and robots, and professors / students keep a close eye on any movement that gets recorded and transferring to computers for processing. If all goes well, a collaboratively built "home of the future" will actually be on display at CES 2009, likely showcasing some of these very advancements.

[Image courtesy of Michael Mulvey / DMN, thanks Travis]

Filed under: Computers

Tags: assistive technology, AssistiveTechnology, elderly, handicap, health, medical, research, university, UTA

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Gavin @ Oct 16th 2008 10:17PM

These sorts of systems are already far beyond the research level. I sat in a conference today and heard all about how companies like Rest Assured (http://www.restassuredsystem.com/index2.htm), Sound Response (http://cow.waisman.wisc.edu/soundresponse.html), and Imagine! Colorado (http://www.imaginecolorado.org/) have been running systems like this for years. Some of them serve hundreds of clients, from the elderly to people with disabilities, and have saved other programs millions of dollars on live-in caregivers.

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