Center to Stream HealthCare In Place
previously Center for Eldercare & Rehabilitation Technology
COLUMBIA – Two MU studies demonstrate using non-invasive and non-contact sensors with the ability to capture early signs of health changes or problems for aged people. The bed sensors capture data on heart rate, respiration rate, and overall cardiac activity, and the radar monitors walking speed.
Identifying the athletes most at risk is the starting point, according to Aaron Gray, an MU School of Medicine assistant professor in the departments of family and community medicine and orthopedic surgery, and Marjorie Skubic, an MU professor of electrical and computer engineering. In the past, screening has been impractical for all but the most elite athletes. Gray and Skubic are changing that with a cheap, widely available gaming peripheral called the Kinect, a motion-sensing device that works with Microsoft’s Xbox.
COLUMBIA, Mo. -Many older adults lose their independence as their health declines and they are compelled to move into assisted care facilities. Researchers at the University of Missouri and TigerPlace, an independent living community, have been using motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents’ health for several years. Now, researchers have found that two devices commonly used for video gaming and security systems are effective in detecting the early onset of illness and fall risk in seniors.
MU College of Engineering (CoE) researchers have received a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant to pursue technology they hope will not only help monitor but also prevent accidents among the elderly. The research team started work in December 2004 on developing software that will integrate information provided by monitoring systems into a meaningful pattern and alert caregivers to a senior’s current and impending needs.
COLUMBIA, Mo. —A senior in a long-term care facility gets up in the middle of the night, trips and falls, and is unable to get up or call for help. Minutes later, a staff member arrives to check on the resident after being alerted by special vibration sensors in the resident’s room that had detected the fall.