New ‘smart’ homes for dementia sufferers
By Kate Morley - 04/03/2009
Innovative ‘smart’ sensing systems that will help the UK’s 700,000 dementia sufferers live independently at home could be available commercially within the next 5 years.
Developed at the University of Bath with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the systems incorporate specially developed, cutting-edge technology to provide a safer enviroment for dementia sufferers. Two trial systems installed in care homes in London and the West Country have now been operating successfully for over a year, and are providing clear evidence that, when installed in domestic properties, these systems like this could help people with dementia live safely and with more control over their lives - particularly useful where sufferers live on their own.
The systems are designed to closely monitor people’s movements and actions around the home. As well as providing voice-prompts (e.g. reminders to turn off a tap or cooker), they can also directly switch lights or appliances on and off in order to eliminate potential dangers. Sensors can also be provided to external doors to eliminate the dangers of sufferers attempting to leave the house at an inappropriate time of night. If this does happen, voice prompt would remind the occupant to go back to bed, and care staff could then be alerted if they still tried to leave.
A mocked-up living environment with working examples of these ‘smart’ technologies will be on show at EPSRC’s ‘Pioneers 09’ showcase event, to be held on Wednesday 4th March at London’s Olympia Conference Centre.
Professor Roger Orpwood, the lead scientist behind the systems’ development, says: “The driver really has been to arrive at a creative engineering solution that addresses real problems faced by real people with real needs. The key is to focus on enabling people, not on taking decisions away from them.”
It is envisaged that systems installed in domestic properties would function on a simple ‘plug in and use’ basis, with minimal visibility or intrusiveness.
The key will be to tailor them to individual requirements and ensure that they act as much like a live-in carer as possible. For example, voice-prompts can utilise the voices of relatives or friends to deliver reassuring messages, as well as to influence behaviour.
The systems are also designed to be monitored remotely via computer by healthcare professionals.
Professor Orpwood says: “The next step is to make sure the systems can be managed by non-technical local authority carers and healthcare staff. If manufacturers can be brought on board, we could see systems in people’s houses within five years or so.”