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The European Commission wants to see Europe developing as a hub for ICT for older people through the development of smart home technologies, electronic alarm systems and remote health facilities, for example.
It is hoped that smart devices, mobile technologies for monitoring vital signs and user-friendly interfaces for people with impaired vision or hearing will improve the quality of life of elderly people, their carers and families.
According to an article on VNUNET, the plan, proposed by the European Commission in June 2007, had already been approved by the European Parliament in March 2008 in a first reading. Twenty EU member states, as well as Israel, Norway and Switzerland would participate in this € 600 million joint research project called “Ambient Assisted Living” programme.
Between now and 2013, another € 400 million are allocated to research and innovation for the elderly people under the E.U.’s seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. “There is no reason for older people in Europe to miss out on the benefits of new technologies. The solutions and services resulting from this program will help them to remain active in society as well as staying socially connected and independent for a longer time,” said Viviane Reding, E.U. Commissioner for the information society and media.
Established in Ireland a few years ago, the TRIL Centre is a coordinated collection of research projects addressing the physical, cognitive and social consequences of ageing, all informed by ethnographic research and supported by a shared pool of knowledge and engineering resources.
The TRIL Centre’s mission is to discover and deliver technology solutions which support independent ageing, ideally in a home environment. This will improve the quality of life of older citizens while reducing the burden on carers and on the health care system. The Project is a collaborative effort combining Intel personnel and researchers from Irish universities and hospitals in multi-disciplinary teams.
IAHSA members learned about TRIL from Eric Dishman in Malta in 2007. Stay tuned for an update in London July 2009.
As IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network grows, we are blessed with the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for creating new communities of folks who share a common goal.
One such ‘new’ group is the brainchild of Professor Julienne Meyer from City University in London. Julienne and IAHSA are teaming up to take her ‘local’ network global.
By way of background, a few years ago Julienne and her colleagues in England created a UK research forum called the National Care Homes Research and Development Forum, composed of researchers who shared an interest in improving the quality of life for all associated with care homes for older people. The result of this collaboration was the creation of an innovative program called My Home Life - a new initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of those who are living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people.
Can we do the same thing on an international level? Of course we can!!!
We are using IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in July 2009 in London as the launching event for the International Research & Development Network.
If you or anyone you know is doing evidenced-based research on issues related to care for the elderly, please read the attached flier. This describes the activities related to the Network that are planned for London in July 2009.
Meanwhile if you have any questions, please get in touch with me at iahsa@aahsa.org or with Julienne at mhl@city.ac.uk.
Majd Alwan, Director of CAST, is a well known and respected researcher in robotics and elder care technologies. He is also a believer in the importance of using IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network as a vehicle for sharing knowledge about potential technological solutions to the challenges of global ageing.
He and Dr. Jeremy Nobel of Harvard University have written a compelling three-part report that outlines the state of the field in the United States with respect to the development of technologies for the ageing service field.
The report, funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, offers a vision for long-term care that includes using integrated information technology systems to support and enhance the health, safety and social connectedness of older people living in their own homes.
They identify several barriers to achieving this vision, but are confident that a combination of new knowledge, linked to effective collaboration among a variety of stakeholders, can overcome these obstacles to widespread technology adoption.
This is an important paper and most of the observations are applicable across the globe. Please share it with your colleagues.
In the ageing services world, we generally focus our discussions about technology on those advances that can be applied to the delivery of care for the elderly – such as remote monitoring devises, assistive devises, and tele-medicine, for example.
However all ageing service providers also need to be able to manage their organization’s internal operations using new technologies. According to an article in The McKinsey Quarterly, there are eight business technology trends that will help all organizations increase their effectiveness and efficiency.
These technology trends fall into three broad areas of business activity – managing relationships, managing capital and assets, and leveraging information in new ways.
Have you ever thought about using a robot as a baby sitter? Or having one give you a bath?
According to a study by a Japanese think tank, The Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, robots will be able to fill the jobs of 3.5 million people by 2025 in graying Japan, helping to avert worker shortages as the country’s population shrinks.
Japan has long been regarded as one of the ‘oldest’ countries, facing a 16% slide in its workforce while the number of elderly grows.
Rather than each robot replacing one person, the foundation said that robots could make time for people to focus on more important things. Like bathing?
It would take me a while to get used to having a robot give me a bath. How about you?
Last week I read an article from the Chicago Sun Times about the growing need for creation of accessible housing for the ageing baby boomers in the US - the Post-WW2 generation that will become the largest segment in US history to age at one time.
As they age and begin to hit geriatric roadblocks, some will need special housing.
Making new housing accessible is required by law – making new construction specifically designed to be lived in or visited by people who have trouble with steps or use wheelchairs or walkers.
But the term ‘visitable’ was new to me. And I think a good addition to the vocabulary. It means that the building is inclusive to everyone. It allows a person with a disability to become integrated into a community – to be able to ‘visit’. And these ‘visitable’ homes are designed to allow for greater adaptations as the owners’ needs change.
Residents at Vinson Hall Retirement Community have a new house guest. He is white, furry, and comes all the way from Japan. Meet Paro the world’s most therapeutic robot (according to the Guiness Book of World Records). Modeled after a baby Harp seal, Paro is a mental commitment robot designed to interact with humans on a personal and therapeutic level. Dr. Shibata, Paro’s inventor, has exhibited the seal pup all over the world and studies people’s reactions to the robot. In Italy, a resident suffering from dementia became calm and relaxed after petting Paro. In Japan, Paro stimulated communication between nursing home residents as they gather around to pet him and care for him. I got to meet Paro at a special presentation at Vinson Hall Retirement Community. This incredible little robot made everyone in the room smile as he squeaked, batted his long eyelashes, and raised his head. It is easy to see how people, both young and old, enjoy interacting with him.
Consumers and ageing service providers are expecting a lot from new technologies - helping folks stay independent longer, enabling workers to concentrate on care giving rather then record keeping and reducing the number of medication errors, for example.
And if anyone can make it happen it is Dr. Majd Alwan, CAST* Director and world-recognized researcher in ageing service technologies.
In a recent interview with Nursing Homes Magazine, Dr. Alwan outlined CAST’s new direction in taking a more proactive role in assisting providers to identify their needs and review relevant technologies. CAST is also encouraging pilot research studies with outcome measures to validate the usefulness of various technologies.
“Key factors to success are ease of use, attention to staff training and good availability of technical support”, noted Alwan.
Bookmark CAST’s website – you’ll want to visit it often.
*Center for Aging Services Technologies
IAHSA’s Second European Conference
Our Future: Quality Ageing Services
22-23 May 2008
Vienna, Austria
It won’t be long before we join our European colleagues in Vienna at IAHSA’s Second European Conference. A key feature of an IAHSA event is networking and relationship building, an essential ingredient for building successful programs. Another key feature is to learn from the experts – those individuals noted for their leadership and creativity in addressing the challenges facing all of us. Our two keynote speakers embody the leadership characteristics needed in the field.
Dr. Kai Leichsenring sets the stage with An Overview of the Ageing Services & Senior Housing Landscape. A Research Associate at the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Dr. Leichsenring is a noted expert in comparative social research in the areas of welfare, health policy and political science, especially with respect to older persons and people with disabilities.
The conference will close with Dr. Naomi Chambers speaking on Transformational Leadership in Ageing Services. A Senior Fellow and Head of Health Policy and Management at the Manchester Business School, as well as the President of European Health Management Association, Dr. Chambers has over 20 years operational experience in health services management.
It’s not to late to join your colleagues in Vienna - Register Today!
IAHSA Past Chair, Espen Aspnes is a Senior Advisor with SINTEF, a leading research organization in technological development. He recently visited South Korea to learn more about how that rapidly growing economy is dealing with the challenges of an ageing society. According to the Korea National Statistical Office, it will take only 19 years for the number of people over 65 to double from 7% to 14%. Compare that to 47 years in the UK and 76 years in Norway.
Given these daunting statistics, the Koreans are investing in technology in a big way. One of Espen’s colleagues, Changan Choi, market adviser at Innovation Norway in Seoul, issued a report on the trends and opportunities in the sector - with a major focus on technology. It is good to see how countries are sharing advancements. A good example of creating community across borders. Thanks, Espen, for sending this to us.
Overview of trends and opportunities in the medical and health sector
As I posted earlier this week, every 7 seconds there is a new case of dementia somewhere in the world. In 2001, 24 million people were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease or other forms of dementia. Researchers expect this number to rise to 43 million by 2025 and to 81 million by 2050.
The medical community has long been challenged on how to make a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Currently doctors use a combination of brain scans, blood tests and patient interviews, but distinguishing the disease from other forms of dementia is difficult, and time consuming, and the accuracy of diagnosis is only about 85%. A truly definitive diagnosis is only possible after death.
Now, according to a recent BBC News report, researchers at University College London have published findings in the journal Brain showing that, using computer technology, they can identify brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s with an accuracy as high as 96%.
Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms only emerge after a considerable amount of damage has already occurred in the brain so it is important to make an accurate diagnosis early to improve the chances of effectively preventing further deterioration.
Having a powerful, non-invasive, fast and cheap technology to provide early diagnosis would be a much needed advancement in the treatment of this terrible disease. The researchers are doing further analysis to understand the full benefits and accuracy of the technique and to see if it can be used to assess the effectiveness of new drugs.
We have our fingers crossed that they are successful.
Nintendo, the make of the Wii phenomenon, is taking their virtual world one step further. Earlier I told you about how retirement communities were using the Wii technology to get residents to be part of bowling leagues – increasing opportunity for exercise and social interaction.
According to a USA Today article, in May 2008 Nintendo will roll out the Wii-Fit Balance Board, a small platform where users can exercise, stretch and do yoga with on-screen avatars — all designed to help keep you fit and lose weight.
The Wii Fit product will also include access to the “Wii Fit Channel,” an interactive online channel that lets users check in daily to track fitness progress through weight and body mass index (BMI).
‘Change’ is constantly in the news these days – especially in the USA where all of the Presidential candidates are portraying themselves as ‘agents of change’.
I think that action speaks louder than words – as demonstrated in a recent Wall Street Journal article that eloquently describes 12 individuals who are true agents of change.
Two of these leaders, Eric Dishman and Dr. Bill Thomas, are well known to the IAHSA family, both having appeared at an IAHSA Global Conference in the past. Eric and his colleagues at Intel are developing technologies to help people stay home as they age and become frail. Bill is best known for his pioneering work in culture change and his Eden Alternative program. He also posts daily to his blog Changing Aging. Its very worth reading.
Others are also doing very important work in a wide variety of fields including financial planning, advocacy, retirement living, and urban planning, to name a few.
Let us know who the Ageing Change Agents are in your country.
YouTube is the place to go to see the latest videos. According to the YouTube statistics, over 100 million videos were watched every day in July 2006. That’s a lot of videos.
The Zimmers made their global debut on YouTube — You remember The Zimmers, the world’s oldest rock band.
Political candidates are using YouTube to generate interest in their policies. And enterprising film makers use YouTube to educate, make political statements and to just have fun.
Today’s blog brings you a YouTube video entitled Shift Happens. It runs about 6 minutes and in a straightforward way gives you information you may or may not know about technology, demographics, education and the globalization of information. All of which will impact how the world addresses the challenges of global ageing.
Its message is quite compelling. Enjoy!
Can a walking stick be a flashlight? How about a portable stereo? Or a tool to drive away belligerent dogs? Meet the “Intelligent Walking Stick”, slated to hit the shelves before the end of this year. It can do all that and more!
Researchers at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute developed a walking stick that does more than help an older person walk more safely. The stick also doubles as a flashlight, an alarm system to call for help or deter would-be criminals, a high-frequency warning devise to scare away dogs and an FM radio. The cane could be on the market by the end of 2007. Researchers are already working on a new walking stick, which will include a Global Positioning System and a blood pressure monitor.
What will they think of next??
And so does Grandpa!! As do all of the other residents at Riderwood, a retirement community in Maryland USA.
Erickson Communities, owner of Riderwood, is working with Nintendo to see if the new game technology Wii [pronounced wee] will work with seniors. So they have set up a Wii bowling alley here at the AAHSA conference. I played against Freek Lapre, IAHSA Chair, from The Netherlands, and I must admit he was pretty good at it.
In addition to being fun, video games and other cognitive training tools have been proven to provide an improvement in overall daily functioning, including hand-eye coordination and cognitive fitness.
Let’s play!!!
See the article below for a good description of the program at Riderwood.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071014/FAMILY/110140006/1016
Technology has the potential to transform aging, but the real question is: do older people want it in their lives? In Japan, the answer may be no.
An article in the Washington Post takes a look at how technologies like robots and automatic feeding spoons are becoming unpopular among Japanese elders and their families. This isn’t good news for companies like Sanyo, who invested millions of dollars in developing Hopis, a robotic dog that could monitor everything from a person’s blood sugar to body temperature. And it probably isn’t good news for aging-services providers, since researchers predict that 40 percent of Japan’s population will be elderly by 2050.
What’s the source of the tech turn off? According to one expert, “….we keep coming up against the same problems. They (technologies) are costly to create, require supervision to use, and in the end the manpower issue is not solved. We can see things work, but who is going to pay the expense?”
So, what beats Hopis and his other friends in the popularity contest? For now, it’s stuffed animals.
Recently the New York Times ran an article about social networks that cater to ‘people of a certain age’, meaning the boomers.
Evidently the folks from Silicon Valley now recognize that baby boomers and the graying population are worth paying attention to – “ They are worth what some investors say may be a profitable characteristic of older Internet users: they are less likely than youngsters to flit from one trendy site to the next.”
More and more boomers are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. And according to the article, the number of Internet users older than 55 is roughly the same as those aged 18-34.
‘Teens are tire kickers – they hang around, cost you money and then leave”, said Paul Kedrosky, an Internet venture capitalist. “The older demographic has a bunch of interesting characteristics, not the least of which is that they hang around”.
Author Matt Richtel says “Older people are sticky.” That means that they are harder to attract to an Internet site but more durable and sticky over time.
What can we learn from this? Perhaps it gives us some ideas about communications and marketing strategies targeted to the boomers. And the fact that the Internet is not just for kids.
Personally I haven’t joined any Internet social networks - those that I’ve heard about, such as Facebook, aren’t of interest to me.
And I never thought of myself as sticky but maybe when I find the right site I’ll stick to it.
The fragmented care system in the US, particularly with respect to payment, has often been cited by field experts as one of the hindrances to a better quality healthcare, while single payer systems, similar to those available in Europe, are seen as conducive to “investing” in programs that reduce the cost of care and generally improve the quality of care for the majority of care recipients, including preventive health programs and technologies. This comparison is sometimes perceived as advocating single payer healthcare system. I have recently come across this very interesting article that offers a more balanced multi-faceted comparison between the US and the European healthcare systems, which I thought of sharing with the readers of this blog; enjoy!
- Majd Alwan
