Many senior living communities have turned to remote monitoring technology to help keep track of residents’ health concerns without needing constant staff supervision.
Now, a new research initiative will evaluate how those kinds of smart sensor systems affect older adults who are living independently.
Essence Smartcare’s emergency detection tool was chosen to be part of a pilot study to determine how the technology benefits older adults who are living alone, the company recently announced.
The study, spearheaded by German health insurance giant Techniker Krankenkasse, is labeled the Intelligence Emergency Detection System project, or INES.
Essence is one of several companies that have tried to develop sensor systems that protect seniors’ privacy and comfort concerns. The firm’s approach involves passive, unobtrusive sensor systems placed throughout a home or facility, often designed to collect data along very narrow parameters, such as gait.
RPM tools such as Essence have proven indispensable in offering fall detection and preventing fall-related emergencies.
“This is a huge step forward in moving beyond traditional ‘red button’ solutions, and we’re honored our radar fall detection device was selected to drive the transformation,” Haim Amir, PhD, and CEO of Essence Group, said in a statement. “[This research will be] playing a key role in creating a safer and smarter independent living environment for seniors in a scalable and financially viable way.”
An Essence spokeswoman described the company’s sensor system as a “box and a button” in an interview with the McKnight’s Tech Daily last year.
The INES project will evaluate 2,000 older adults living independently in Germany. Germany’s “silver wave” is actually more pronounced than the demographic shift taking place in the United States and Canada, research shows, although both Europe and America are facing similar challenges when it comes to meeting the needs of increasingly senior populations.
Remote monitoring and cybersecurity were considered the highest tech priorities for senior living and care, according to a survey of healthcare organizations at the end of last year.
