New Technology
Helps Seniors
Remain
Independent
— by Michele Miller
A
wide array of new tech-
nology is allowing older
people more confidence to
continue living independently in their
own home, while also providing their
family members more peace of mind via
the ability to check on them from a dis-
tance. According to AARP, one-third of
U.S. adults age 65-plus live alone, as do
40 percent of those age 85-plus.
Smart technology now allows us
to track medication, activity — such as
wandering in Alzheimer’s — or the lack
of activity, as in illness or falls, as well as
real-time health information. Bluetooth
connectivity and the Internet, combined
with inexpensive cameras or sensors,
can monitor a parent’s activity inside
their home, and GPS tracking in smart
watches or pendants allow concerned
family members to know their loved one
is safe outside the home. Technology
has even helped create pets that don’t
require walking or feeding to help with
the isolation experienced by many who
live alone.
Examples of such technology are:
MedMinder
(www.medminder.
com) – Automated pill dispensers with a
built-in cellular connection.
30 WNY Family March 2020
CareZone (https://carezone.com/
home) – A free app that helps organize
health information and helps you stay on
track with automatic reminders. It also
has a pharmacy platform that allows
medication to be pre-sorted in pill packs
sorted by dose, date, and time delivered
to your door.
Reminder Rosie (https://smpltec.
com/reminder-rosie#prodmenu) – The
Reminder Rosie alarm clock is a hands-
free, voice activated memory aid and
daily organizer
which does not
require
Wi-fi.
It helps people
stay on task with
personalized
reminders
for
medication, doc-
tor appointments, mealtimes, favorite
activities, personal tasks, birthdays, and
much more, with messages that play
back in a familiar or a loved one’s voice
for improved compliance. All the user
has to do is to turn the alarm off once the
task is accomplished.
Fall Alert Systems There are nu-
merous systems that involve a personal
help button, for home use, that is worn
around the neck or the wrist, which can
automatically detect if you’ve fallen.
A base station is plugged into the wall.
Sensors in the device you wear are con-
nected wirelessly to the base station. If a
fall is detected, you are connected auto-
matically to their response center. Other
alert systems monitor for falls outside
the home as well, with some offering
apps for smartphones which connect not
only to a response system but to a family
member.
Medical and Activity Monitoring
Systems – There are now wearable wrist
devices that include activity monitoring,
an emergency button, a GPS locator, and
medication reminders; all linked to a
family caregiver app to keep loved ones
informed. These systems pick up on
small changes in a person’s daily activ-
ity patterns via sensors. In about a week,
once a person’s patterns are “learned” by
the sensors — when they get up in the
morning, go to bed, take
a shower (with the de-
vice sensing the humid-
ity!) — family members
can see the activity on
an app and be alerted if
the pattern looks out of
the ordinary, indicating
a possible problem. Check out Care-
giver Smart Solutions (https://www.
caregiversmartsolutions.com/) as an ex-
ample of this type of technology.
Joy for All (https://joyforall.com/)
– In 2015, an innovation team was
formed at Hasbro and given the unique
challenge to create new products in the
health and wellness space. Based on
consumer feedback and market research,
they developed a line of Companion Pets
under the Joy for All brand — including
a cat, a pup, and a kitten. The “compan-
ions” have built-in sensors that respond
to motion and touch; make appropriate
movements and realistic sounds. These
pets can recreate the joy of owning a
beloved pet without the responsibilities
and are actually deemed suitable for
ages 5-105. Alkaline batteries power the
pet.