Category: Seniors
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Fall sensor + Alexa Together can prolong independent senior living
Alexa Together has partnered with Vayyar, Sky Angel Care, and AltumView to detect falls. If a fall is detected, Alexa asks if help is needed, and then connects to an urgent response line, and alerts emergency contacts. Additional aging in place tools continue to be added to Alexa Together, including fall risk assessment, detection of…
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Apple watch detects falls, diagnoses heart rhythm, bp irregularities
The Apple Watch has become a serious medical monitor. It will now be able to detect falls, contact emergency responders, and diagnose irregularities in heart rhythm and blood pressure. Its ECG app has been granted a De Novo classification by the FDA. ECG readings are taken from the wrist, using electrodes built into the Digital Crown and…
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Gait sensor predicts senior falls
University of Illinois professors Bruce Schatz and David Buchner have developed a system to predict senior fall risk using motion sensors that measure walking patterns. 67 women over 60 were tested on walking ability, detailed past annual falls, and wore an accelerometer for one week. The analysis of device data and reported history enabled the…
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Tony Chahine on human presence, reimagined | ApplySci @ Stanford
Myant‘s Tony Chahine reimagined human presence at ApplySci’s recent Wearable Tech + Digital Health + Neurotech conference at Stanford: Join ApplySci at the 9th Wearable Tech + Digital Health + Neurotech Boston conference on September 24, 2018 at the MIT Media Lab. Speakers include: Rudy Tanzi – Mary Lou Jepsen – George Church – Roz Picard –…
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Wall sensor monitors walking speed, stride to track health
MIT’s Dina Katabi, Chen-Yu Hsu, and colleagues have developed WiGait, a wall sensor that detects walking speed and stride to monitor health. This builds on previous MIT research which showed that radio signals could track breathing and heart rate, without wearables. The system works by transmitting low-power radio signals and analyzing how they reflect off bodies within a…
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Sensors inform skilled nursing care
IBM has partnered with Avamere skilled nursing facilities to sudy the use of cognitive computing to improve caregiver knowledge and actions. By embedding sensors that gather physical and environmental data in senior living facilities, Avamere hopes to reduce hospital admission rates. Patient movement, air quality, gait analysis and other fall risk factors, personal hygiene, sleeping…
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AI assistant addresses specific needs of seniors
ElliQ is AI assistant that intuitively interacts with seniors to support independent living. The NLP based system enables users to make video calls, play games, and use social media. Music, TED talks, audio books,and other content is recommended, after machine learning tools analyze user preferences (or caregiver input is received.) Physical activity is suggested after…
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Alexa solidifies NLP’s role in smart homes, cars. Is senior care next?
Amazon’s Alexa is the deserved star of CES. Lights, thermostats, air purifiers, cars, refrigerators, other appliances, and baby monitors are examples of interfaces solidifying the natural voice processing-driven future of the world. Amazon now has the opportunity to enhance the lives of those aging in place. Its development of senior citizen focused applications is lagging. Alexa has the…
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Sensors + robotics + AI for safer aging in place
IBM and rice University are developing MERA — a Waston enabled robot meant to help seniors age in place. The system comprises a Pepper robot interface, Watson, and Rice’s CameraVitals project, which calculates vital signs by recording video of a person’s face. Vitals are measured multiple times each day. Caregivers are informed if the the camera and/or accelerometer detect…
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Antibody dramatically reduces amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s patient study
A potential game-changer in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease has been successfully trialled. Biogen developed aducanumab was found to almost completely clear the visible signs of Alzheimer’s disease from the brain. 165 patient brains were scanned as they were given the drug. After a year, almost all of the amyloid plaques appeared to have disappeared from those given…
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Gait sensors predict falls, allowing preventive intervention
University of Missouri’s Marjorie Skubic has used sensors to measure gait speed and stride length, to predict falls. The goals is to use wearables and smart home technology to preserve independence and allow seniors to age in place. Data was collected at an independent-living style retirement residence. Images and nurse alert emails were generated when…
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Affective computing system responds to dementia patient emotions
SenseCare (Sensor Enabled Affective Computing for Enhancing Medical Care) is a Cork Institute of Technology led project meant to teach computers how to recognize and respond to human emotions. The goal is to use applied psychology to monitor and improve the care of dementia patients. The affective computing based system will manage data from voice and face…