Global Trends in the Study of Smart Healthcare Systems for the Elderly: Artificial Intelligence Solutions

Abstract

Smart healthcare systems have received increasing attention in recent years; however, a bibliometric analysis of the research on smart healthcare systems for the elderly is lacking. This study aimed to identify scientific results and emerging themes related to smart healthcare systems for older adults. Articles and reviews related to smart healthcare systems for older adults, published between 2013 and 2022, were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database using a keyword search. Data collected included the number of publications per year, country/region, institution, author, journal, reference, citation frequency, and keywords. Bibliometric analysis and visualization were performed using the scientometric software VOSviewer and CiteSpace, as well as the bibliometric online analysis platform. In total, 486 articles were retrieved. The number of papers in the field of smart healthcare systems research for older adults has increased every year since 2013. China and the US led in both the number of papers published and total citations. King Saud University was the most prolific institution, while Deen published the highest number of articles and had the highest number of citations. Papers related to smart healthcare systems for the elderly were mainly published in Sensors, IEEE Access, and Applied Sciences-Basel journals. The keyword co-occurrence analysis showed that keywords related to ‘smart home’ appeared most frequently. The top ten common keywords were system, health, smart home, smart homes, Internet of Things, care, older adults, technology, healthcare, and people. The most recent keyword to gather attention was ‘artificial intelligence’. The research on smart healthcare systems for the elderly continues to increase steadily. China and the US maintain a leading position in the world, and institutions such as King Saud University have contributed significantly to the field of smart healthcare for older people. The smart home is the current research hotspot in the field of smart healthcare for older people, and artificial intelligence is likely to be the focus of research in the coming years. There is a need for greater collaboration between countries and institutions to help older people benefit from smart healthcare.