The Technology for Monitoring Elderly Relatives
By Taub, Eric A.; New York Times,Publication Date: July 28, 2010
Article discusses technology that enables elderly people to live independently in their homes while allowing family caregivers to monitor their health and safety. (1) Lotsa Helping Hands (lotsahelpinghands.com), a free website, allows caregivers to set up a community of friends and family that can be alerted when help is needed, for example to take a person to the doctor; (2) Philips Lifeline (lifelinesys.com), a home monitoring system, provides a pendant worn around the neck that, when activated, alerts its call center in case of an emergency; (3) GrandCare Systems (grandcare.com) sends phone alerts to a caregiver whenever a user-defined set of parameters is breached, such as the front door being opened at night, at the senior’s home; (4) Ideal Life (ideallifeonline.com) offers devices for the monitoring of symptoms associated with heart failure and diabetes that automatically send data to the company’s website, where it can be examined by a caregiver; (5) pill dispensing and monitoring devices are offered by companies such as Philips, whose Medication Dispensing Service (managemypills.com) provides a tabletop device that automatically dispenses preloaded doses of medication and reminds users with a spoken message that their medication is ready; (7) services that help seniors outside the home mentioned are the ActiveCare Personal Assistance Link and MobileHelp (mobilehealpnow.com), which use cellphone like devices to detect falls and include GPS technology to locate the user; and (8) a personal activity monitoring system to encourage the elderly to exercise is in development at the U.C.L.A. Wireless Health Institute, which is also at work on a commercial version of its prototype SmartCane, a device using sensors to determine if its user is walking with the proper gait.
Assistive Products Discussed: LIFELINE PERSONAL RESPONSE SYSTEM
GRANDCARE HOME MONITORING SYSTEM
Published by: New York Times Company (Website:http://www.nytco.com)
Link to text: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/garden/29hometech.html?ref=garden
