2004 Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer Care Grant

Electronic sensors may be valuable tools for monitoring the behaviors of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or memory deficits. These tools may enhance safety and provide a certain degree of independence. Diane Mahoney, Ph.D., and colleagues are assessing the potential benefit of electronic sensors for monitoring people in independent living facilities.

The researchers will conduct before and after interviews with “care teams” to determine the needs, expectations and concerns of the people who might use or gain some benefit from a monitoring system. Each team will be a person with Alzheimer’s disease or a measurable memory deficit, the primary family caregiver or guardian, one other key family member, the primary physician, and a member of the facility’s management staff.

The “before” information will be used to set up a sensor monitoring system for 44 residents of an independent living facility. The system will integrate sensor-based technology that can be monitored remotely by computer and sensor-activated alerts designed specifically for needs of each of the various care team members.

The investigators will assess (1) what behaviors can be monitored through sensor-based technology to promote independence and safety; (2) how well a monitoring system functions with regard to privacy concerns and federal confidentiality guidelines; (3) how well a system can be integrated with multiple technologies, such as the Internet, cell phones, or personal data assistants; and (4) whether a monitoring system meets the needs of users from diverse ethnic and cultural communities.