A model new for smart home technologies knee monitor and walking analyser

Abstract

Over the past century, in the most developed and rapidly developing countries, there has been a continuous increase in life expectancy primarily due to improvements in public health, nutrition, and medicine. However, this is now in parallel with aging population demographics and falling birth rates, which when combined, are expected to significantly burden the socio-economic well-being of many of these countries. In fact, never in human history have we been confronted with such a large aging population, nor have we developed solid, cost-effective solutions their healthcare and social needs, as well as the well-being of the elderly. In this paper, we will describe an ongoing project in Ubiquitous (U)-Healthcare - a smart medical home. In our research work, we are using advances in Information Technology (IT), wireless communication, web-based technologies, and autonomics, to develop new, smart, and cost-effective solutions for the health wellness of the elderly. Such a solution would enable the elderly to lead independent lifestyles in their own homes while being continuously, non-invasively, and non-intrusively monitored for the early detection of symptoms, so diseases can be treated in the early stages; to promote health wellness; as well as to treat chronic illnesses. In this research paper, through a few examples, we will discuss our ongoing work and the challenges we have uncovered, plus some of the research issues we are pursuing. We will particularly focus on the critical role of IT in developing innovative, low-cost, and high impacting solutions to the pending elderly demographic crisis. Several examples will be given to highlight IT for U-Health.