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Elder Care News
New Technology Safe Home for People with Dementia
Opens in England
Designed to provide patients
greater independence
 January 24, 2007 A constant worry of caregivers
for people with dementia is wandering. But, imagine a home where the
lights automatically come on if entered by the wandering patient and a
voice would encourage them to go back to bed. These are just some of the
features in a groundbreaking home that uses the latest smart technology
to give people with dementia and other serious long-term health
conditions greater independence that will be showcased for the first
time in Bristol, England tomorrow.
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Elder Care News |
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The technology, which has been developed by the
Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME) in the School for Health at
the University of Bath, has been designed to help people readjust to
living on their own after a stay in hospital, and aims to reduce the
risk of users being readmitted to hospital or going into long term care.
It uses special sensors that can wirelessly talk
to devices, such as the cooker, taps and light switches, in response to
the behavior of the resident. By monitoring movement within the home,
the system is able to respond to many different situations without
having to contact care staff, often just using simple voice prompts,
which could be recorded by family members.
For example, if the occupant was detected opening
the main door at inappropriate times they would be given a prompt to let
them know the time and encourage them to go back to bed. Similarly, if
the occupant got out of bed at night, the bedroom lights would be gently
faded up. (Other examples can be found in the notes below.)
The system provides a very quick response and gives
residents a greater feeling of control and independence as it doesn't
rely on people coming in from outside to resolve problems, with outside
help only called in for real emergencies.
The technology in the enabling smart home at the
Hillside Court very sheltered housing scheme in St George, Bristol,
has been developed over several years in consultation with people with
dementia and their caregivers.
It is a joint project between BIME, Bristol City
Council's Adult Community Care service, Bristol PCT's Intermediate Care
Service, Dementia Voice (dementia services development centre for the
south west) and Housing 21 (a national provider of housing with care and
support for older people).
The really smart thing about the wireless
technology we have used in this flat is that we can take the elements
that clients find particularly useful in the smart home and install them
in their own home, said Professor Roger Orpwood, Director of BIME.
The whole installation is quite unique because it
is designed to empower the resident rather than relying on outside help
to deal with problems.
The idea is that residents will stay in the smart
home for a short period of around three months, before returning to
their own home.
The flat has been set up as a two year pilot to
assess how the technology helps give people more independence and
control, reducing the risk of users being readmitted to hospital or
going into long term care.
Individual components of the system have been
tested by people with dementia, but the complete installation has
previously only been used at one other Housing 21 property in Lewisham,
south London.
David Self, Dementia Services Advisor at Dementia
Voice, said: The work we have already done in Lewisham has shown that
by using technology we can improve independence and quality of life for
people with dementia and reduce anxieties for relatives, without
increasing the burden on care staff.
We hope this latest project will take things a
step further with the opportunity to install the successful 'smart'
elements of the flat in people's own homes.
Councilor John Kiely, Executive Member for Housing
and Adult Community Care at Bristol City Council, added: Smart
technology doesn't just monitor people to make sure they stay safe, it
also has the potential to preserve the dignity and independence of
people with dementia who want to continue living in their own homes.
What can the technology do?
● If the occupant was detected opening the main
door at inappropriate times they would be given a prompt to let them
know the time and encourage them to go back to bed. If they continued to
go out, care staff would be alerted.
● If the occupant got out of bed at night, the
bedroom lights would be gently faded up.
● If the occupant got back into bed and left the
lights on, the house would wait a couple of minutes and then fade the
lights off. The user could turn the lights on and off themselves at any
point.
● If the occupant moved around the house when it
was dark, appropriate room lights would be turned on to help orientate
them and prevent falls.
● If taps were accidentally left on they would be
turned off.
● If the cooker was left on the occupant would be
prompted to turn it off. This would be done twice but if they didn't
respond, or if smoke was detected near the cooker, it would be turned
off and care staff alerted.
● Whilst the cooker hot plates were still hot,
even if the cooker had been turned off, a small warning sign would be
illuminated saying 'Cooker Hot'.
● If the occupant was detected moving around a
lot at night, they would be prompted to encourage them to go back to
bed. If they continued to behave restlessly care staff would be alerted.
● Care staff would be alerted through the normal
warden call system.
Editor's Notes:
The Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME) is
a design and development charity working in the fields of medicine,
health care and assistive technology for disabled people.
The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading
universities, with an international reputation for quality research and
teaching. In 16 subject areas the University of Bath is rated in the top
ten in the country.
>>
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