High-Tech Devices Keep the Elderly Safe From Afar

Many feel right at home as they know they are not alone...sensors and computers can take the place of having cameras all over...and perhaps a mixture is good...companies like Intel are busy developing such technologies that are user friendly and don't detract and become an annoyance instead of an aid...if done properly seniors feel quite at home with the devices....BD

Technology systems to underpin living independently, or what some call “aging in place,” are still years from being rolled out in a big way, awaiting adequate financing for research and other incentives, like coverage by insurance companies, according to Mr. Nobel’s study, which was released in March by the Center for Aging Services Technologies, a program of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
But projects are under way around the country to test high-tech gadgets for home use, including wireless sensors and devices to regulate temperature, lights and appliances, and sophisticated medical monitors. And some care providers have begun to equip clients with devices that fit their needs. A survey by AARP found that older people were willing to use high-tech devices at home, and to pay about $50 a month.
Intel researchers are developing devices like a “memory bracelet” that vibrates at a specified time to remind the wearer of a doctor’s appointment or to take medication. Also in trials are sensor-infused carpets — Eric Dishman, Intel’s director of product research, calls them “magic carpets” — and wearable sensors, which would measure changes in gait, to help avoid falls.
Intel invested $3 million with the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, which runs what it calls a living laboratory, with 225 volunteers. The project, which also received $7 million from the federal aging institute, uses sensors on walls, doorways and appliances — and computer games — to detect cognitive decline.