Connectivity for Healthcare and Well-Being Management: Examples from Six European Projects

Abstract

Technological advances and societal changes in recent years have contributed to a shift in traditional care models and in the relationship between patients and their doctors/carers, with (in general) an increase in the patient-carer physical distance and corresponding changes in the modes of access to relevant care information by all groups. The objective of this paper is to showcase the research efforts of six projects (that the authors are currently, or have recently been, involved in), CAALYX, eCAALYX, COGKNOW, EasyLine+, I2HOME, and SHARE-it, all funded by the European Commission towards a future where citizens can take an active role into managing their own healthcare. Most importantly, sensitive groups of citizens, such as the elderly, chronically ill and those suffering from various physical and cognitive disabilities, will be able to maintain vital and feature-rich connections with their families, friends and healthcare providers, who can then respond to, and prevent, the development of adverse health conditions in those they care for in a timely manner, wherever the carers and the people cared for happen to be.

User Interaction Concepts in Smart Caring Homes for Elderly with Chronic Conditions

“…Opposed to ck mechanisms have tight integration with the home sen a closely coupled sensory-feedback installation. The ti ms with the home environment is combined with a mob [28][29], yet a complementary feedback mechanism (pair is not a standard approach [8].…”

“…In an opposite approach, the AAL projects that adopt fixed feedback technologies such as projectors [8], all-in-one touchscreen PC's [27], custom home controllers like: the Gigaset home control [28], or DigiFlower [8]; or smart TVs [27,29] are integrated tightly within the home environment. They have specific clear roles for offering feedback within a user initiated and control interaction episode, following more rigidly defined paradigms of use.…”

Healthcare Reform, Quality, and Technology: ADHD as a Case Study

“…Remote monitoring may include tracking of biometric data such as vital signs, weight, blood sugar, and patient movement[17]. A sophisticated remote monitoring example is the European Enhanced Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment (eCAALYX) system, developed to provide remote monitoring for older adults with chronic disease, thereby allowing increased quality of life, safety, and independence for elderly patients[18]. e-CAALYX employs a wireless garment worn by the user that tracks a variety of parameters including changes in biometric data or patient activity such that preventative measures can be employed to prevent deterioration.…”

Assistive technologies for the new generation of senior citizens: the SHARE-it approach

“…Targeted multidisciplinary European programmes have already been established to encourage integration between different basic disciplines and serve as strong drivers for the whole field of research and service development around ageing. These projects operate in a challenging environment, producing innovative ideas to support the needs of the sensitive group of elderly people (Kamel-Boulos et al, 2009). Researchers focused on how to deliver quality care to a rapidly growing population of older adults.…”

“…In the concrete case of radiofrequency, the systems exploit technologies widely spread like GSM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee or RFID, as well as others emerging like ultra wideband technology (http://www.intel.com/go/uwb/) or wireless sensor networks (Marin et al, 2005). Biomedical data collected off patients can be complemented by geographical (subject's location) information, at least as captured by GPS devices (Kamel-Boulos et al, 2009).…”