Movement tracking sensors in the home could give early indications for diseases such dementia, Parkinson’s or heart problems, a study has revealed. Researchers identified that specific changes in our movement patterns can be indicators of health problems.
They hope that the 'milestone' study can allow older people to live on their own for longer, avoid hospital and even receive early treatment for a range of conditions. A total of 1,268 non-interaction sensors tailored to the age of the participants were used were used for the study.
The contactless motion sensors were put into each room, along with bed sensors underneath mattresses, and door sensors on the front door and fridge. They were then connected to a base station in order for the system to analyse the registered motion signals.
First author, Dr Naryan Schutz from the ARTOG Centre for Biomedical Engineering, University of Bern, said: "We used non-contact sensors at home to create an extensive collection of digital measures that capture broad parts of daily life, behaviour and physiology, in order to identify health risks of older people at an earlier stage." Research author Dr Tobias Nef, professor of Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation at the ARTOG Centre, added: “Compared to wearable devices, this sensor-based home monitoring approach was perceived well among seniors.
"We were able to show that such a systems approach, in contrast to the common use of a few health metrics, allows to detect age-relevant health problems such as cognitive impairment, fall risk or frailty surprisingly well."
In older people, decrease in strength often comes with risk of falls, mild cognitive impairment, respiratory problems, an irregular heartbeat, depression, sleep problems, increasing muscle and heart weakness. To help researchers create an overall picture, they combined a variety of everyday activities and behaviour patterns measured by sensors in the homes of elderly study participants.
The study will hopefully help with early detection, as well as the development of treatments and research into therapeutic treatments and drugs. Adults above the age of 80 preferred a zero-interaction system as they found it harder to operate mobile devices due to cognitive problems or dexterity.
The sensors do not record sound or video and their instillations were entirely voluntary. The combination of data collected and its evaluation offers the potential to identify ageing-relative biomarkers – signs of normal or abnormal processes in the body.
Dr Nef added: "We found indications that fall risk could significantly depend on certain sleep parameters. Such a system marks a milestone in early detection of worsening health for seniors living alone into old age.
“We assume that it can make a significant contribution to enabling older people to live at home for as long as possible by delaying hospital admissions and transfers to nursing or, in the best case, even avoiding them."
According to the researchers, better early detection, and personalised treatment of typical diseases of old age would not only help older people achieve better health, but also reduce healthcare costs.
