Multisensory System for Long-Term Activity Monitoring to Facilitate Aging-in-Place

Abstract

Demographic changes and an ageing population require more effective methods to confront the increased prevalence of chronic diseases which generate dependence in older adults as well as an important rise in social expenditure. The challenge is not only to increase life expectancy, but also to ensure that the older adults can fully enjoy that moment in their lives, living where they wish to (private home, nursing home, …). Physical activity (PA) is a representative parameter of a person’s state of health, especially when we are getting older, because it plays an important role in the prevention of diseases, and that is the reason why it is promoted in older adults. One of the goals of this work is to assess the feasibility of objectively measuring the PA levels of older adults wherever they live. In addition, this work proposes long-term monitoring that helps to gather daily activity patterns. We fuse inertial measurements with other technologies (WiFi- and ultrasonic-based location) in order to provide not only PA, but also information about the place where the activities are carried out, including both room-level location and precise positioning (depending on the technology used). With this information, we would be able to generate information about the person’s daily routines which can be very useful for the early detection of physical or cognitive impairment.

Design and Verification of Integrated Circuitry for Real-Time Frailty Monitoring

“…Aligned with some of the many works that employ new information and communication technologies to monitor lifestyles [ 19 ] and encourage active habits [ 20 ], this work introduces an innovative and non-invasive approach to assess the physical functionality of patients, utilizing cost-effective electronics to capture reliable and repetitive data from a common daily activity: sitting down and standing up from a chair. The device, designed to instrument each leg of a standard armrest-free chair with load cells, incorporates a 32-bit microcontroller with WiFi communication capability.…”