Smart environmental ICTs for e-health

Sergio Escalera Guerrero

Computer Vision Centre, Spain

Research

Care Respite is a comprehensive technological solution aimed at caregivers that allows automatic monitoring of dependents. It is transparent, non-invasive, affordable and easy to use, both day and night, and it maintains anonymity through the use of infrared imaging depth sensors. It uses computerised vision technology that interprets the events that take place and sends alerts to caregivers in order to report certain activities that have previously been identified as risky: sudden falls, long absences, excessive agitation, etc.

Aim

To improve the quality of life of caregivers by providing them with time to rest or to attend other obligations, as well as free time.

To improve the care process in order to benefit and assist caregivers, while providing a positive effect on dependents, and to improve communication between the agents involved (doctor - social worker - family).

Problem to Solve

The number of people with care responsibilities is increasing due to the ageing of the population and increased need for long-term-care: 34,8 M in EU, 2.6 M in Spain. Caregivers are all around, either familiar or professional, trained or beginners. Those who care need support in performing their task and responsibilities in order to be able to cope with other daily duties or tasks and avoid burnout.

Innovation

A monitoring device via phone maintains the anonymity of the person being monitored and informs caregivers about certain changes in the status of dependent persons. Examples of events that the system recognises are: the patient shows a high degree of agitation, falls, leaves the bed, room, etc.

It captures audio, images, and depth maps in an area of 25 m2. This information is processed by a computer unit that is able to recognise the events related to the patient, even in dark environments thanks to the infrared sensor technology.

Level of Innovation

Patient events are automatically detected by the computer unit without having to install additional sensors or invasive technologies on site. Each patient requires specific monitoring events to be recognised. In this sense, the remote application allows the professional or the caregiver to select the risk events to be monitored, and they will be alerted only if those events occur.