Sensor Network to Protect the Elderly
From: National Science Foundation - 12/06/2012
By: Marlene Cimons

System monitors seniors' health in the comfort of their own homes 

University of Missouri researchers have developed a sensor network that can
remotely monitor changes in a person's activity patterns and baseline health
conditions and alert health professionals to early signs of illness and
functional decline. The system can provide automated data that indicates the
possible need for medical assistance, enabling the elderly to avoid
unnecessary trips to the doctor. The sensor network currently is being tested
in an eldercare facility, but the researchers recently received a US National
Science Foundation grant to expand the research to a second location. The
network consists of motion detectors, video-gaming technology based on the
Microsoft Kinect system that can monitor a person's gait, and a hydraulic bed
sensor that goes underneath the mattress and can measure an individual's
pulse, respiration, and restlessness during sleep. "What we want is for them
to be able to live their typical lifestyle pattern and go about their daily
activities while, computationally, we are capturing a pattern that represents
their usual behavior in their homes-and then we look for changes," says
Missouri professor Marjorie Skubic. "This has such a potential to proactively
help seniors stay healthy and in their own homes, while at the same time
saving healthcare costs."  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=126247

Links:
Marjorie Skubic
http://people.cs.missouri.edu/~skubicm/

TigerPlace
http://www.americareusa.net/independent_living/columbia_mo/zip_65201/americare/1335.html

US Ignite
http://us-ignite.org/

Center for Eldercare and Rehabilitation Technology
http://www.eldertech.missouri.edu/