SMART HOUSE MONITORS SENIOR SAFETY
When elderly people start to have memory problems, they may have a tough time remembering to take their medications. Some scientists are using wireless technology to help solve the problem -- in hopes that these patients can remain independent.
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Most mornings Audrey Mitchell remembers to take her medication. But sometimes at night she forgets.
Audrey Mitchell
"That takes a little more remembering."
But she's not the only one keeping track. Wireless technology allows scientists more than 20 miles away to see when Audrey opens her pill box.
Tamara Hayes
PhD Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
"We do have some people who actually are very adherent. They take it on time the same day every day, no problems. We also have people who think they take it on time every day, no problems, but in fact, they miss very frequently."
Audrey is one of 50 people in oregon with motion sensors in her apartment that allow scientists to track changes in her activity.
Jeffrey A. Kaye, MD
Neurologist
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
"If you have a system at home where you're actually literally able to capture what's happening, 24-7, literally, you really have a much greater opportunity of checking or finding when troubles begin way earlier."
The monitoring devices can act as early warning signals when people are developing dementia or Alzheimer's. This system alerts caregivers if a patient falls while getting out of bed.
Jeffery A. Kaye, MD
"This is not some kind of world's fair, future home that we'll never see. At least what we're doing is we're trying to devise ways of bringing this to people within the next few years."
Of course there's a trade off...The person being monitored gives up some privacy, but Audrey doesn't mind.
Audrey Mitchell
"I don't find it intrusive, not at all."
If her mind starts to fade, she says she wants someone to know about it.
The monitoring devices themselves are pretty inexpensive, between $10 and $100. The computer equipment costs about $1,000, but the biggest expense is hiring someone to monitor and interpret the data.
BACKGROUND: It's not a normal part of aging, but dementia is most commonly seen in older adults. Dementia is the loss of intellectual ability. The disorder causes confusion, memory loss, loss of skills, and disruption of normal daily activities. Eventually, patients may not recognize family members or friends and may display agitated behavior. Alzheimer's disease is just one cause of dementia. It affects 4.5 million Americans. There are, however, several other forms of dementia. One type frequently follows stroke and is caused by narrowed arteries in the brain. Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases can also cause dementia. There are very few medications or procedures that can treat dementia. Alzheimer's has no cure, though certain medications can delay deterioration. However, these medications must be given before the disease has significantly progressed. It is, therefore, very important to detect the earliest signs of dementia and act on them. For older adults who live alone, dementia can endanger their lives. They may forget to take important medications or even cause themselves harm. This is another important reason to detect dementia early.
THE SMART HOUSE: Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore., are developing technologies and monitoring systems that will enable earlier detection of dementia. Researchers outfitted the homes of 50 older adults with devices that record activities in the house and then send the information to a person offsite. Pill dispensers would record when and if it was opened. This could help physicians determine if their patients are adhering to instructions. Furthermore, if a patient thinks he/she is taking medications regularly and the monitoring system shows he/she is not, the discrepancy could be an indicator that there is something wrong. The intelligent MedTracker pill box is one of a handful of devices OHSU researchers are developing. The goal is to blend in with the home and unobtrusively monitor how seniors go about their day. This project is a part of the research being conducted at the National Institutes of Health-funded center ORCATECH, or Oregon Roybal Center for Aging & Technology.
Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., is the director of the Aging & Alzheimer's Disease Center at OHSU. He says this technology has many applications. One is helping families who want to monitor loved ones living in nursing homes and assisted living communities. It can also give the older adult an indication of his/her cognitive health. "One has to trade off the benefit with the possibility of losing some potential privacy," says Dr. Kaye. He says the devices themselves will not be expensive. Many of the sensors would cost between $20 and $100. Paying people to monitor and interpret the information gathered by the sensors would be the main significant cost. Scientists are, however, creating artificial intelligence computer programs that would be able to combine information from a variety of sensors and tracking devices to assess situations in which mobility problems or dementia may be occurring. Dr. Kaye says the long-term goal of the project is to make systems like this available to the public.
Tracy Zitzelberger
Adminstrator, ORCATECH
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Road, CR-131
Portland, OR 97239-3098
(503) 494-9635
zitzelbe@ohsu.edu
Copyright © 2006 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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