In-Home Care Goes High Tech
The lab includes a “model home” to test new gadgets. One is a special bed laced with sensors to assess breathing patterns, heart rate and general sleep quality. If someone lying on the bed holds a breath for a few seconds, the computer monitor flashes “subject has stopped breathing.”
A pill box fitted with electronic switches records when medication is taken. And a Wii video game system has been rejiggered so that players stand on a platform that measures their weight and balance.
More is on the drawing board at the Oregon tech lab and elsewhere: software to help dementia patients find their way home if they get lost, devices that interpret facial expressions for signs of depression and robotic “pets” that have lifelike interactions with seniors.
Read more on technological innovations for in-home elder care.
This is definitely the wave of the future. Instead of a nurse sitting at a desk watching patient monitors, the job could be outsourced to a high-tech center who job it is to monitor patients from off-site.
Futureworld.
I like this concept. It sounds like it would be better for some seniors than going into a nursing home (or something similar).
The term “aging in place” is already a buzzword in senior housing communities. In these places, it refers to being able to stay in your apartment for as long as possible (rather than moving to apartments in nursing or assisted living). The problem is that no one wants to move into a community with a bunch of people that are “aging in place”. So these places attract older, more frail seniors.
I know that some states require Medicaid to pay for some in-home modifications like shower rails, etc. Perhaps it is only a matter of time until the monitoring becomes part of it.
This does seem like future world.