Medical data processing and analysis for remote health and activities monitoring

Recent developments in sensor technology, wearable computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless communication have given rise to research in ubiquitous healthcare and remote monitoring of human\u2019s health and activities. Health monitoring systems involve processing and analysis of data retrieved from smartphones, smart watches, smart bracelets, as well as various sensors and wearable devices. Such systems enable continuous monitoring of patients psychological and health conditions by sensing and transmitting measurements such as heart rate, electrocardiogram, body temperature, respiratory rate, chest sounds, or blood pressure. Pervasive healthcare, as a relevant application domain in this context, aims at revolutionizing the delivery of medical services through a medical assistive environment and facilitates the independent living of patients. In this chapter, we discuss (1) data collection, fusion, ownership and privacy issues; (2) models, technologies and solutions for medical data processing and analysis; (3) big medical data analytics for remote health monitoring; (4) research challenges and opportunities in medical data analytics; (5) examples of case studies and practical solutions

Technology and Caregiving: Emerging Interventions and Directions for Research.

An array of technology-based interventions has increasingly become available to support family caregivers, primarily focusing on health and well-being, social isolation, financial, and psychological support. More recently the emergence of new technologies such as mobile and cloud, robotics, connected sensors, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, voice, and the evermore ubiquitous tools supported by advanced data analytics, coupled with the integration of multiple technologies through platform solutions, have opened a new era of technology-enabled interventions that can empower and support family caregivers. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for identifying and addressing the challenges that may need to be overcome to effectively apply technology-enabled solutions for family caregivers. The paper identifies a number of challenges that either moderate or mediate the full use of technologies for the benefit of caregivers. The challenges include issues related to equity, inclusion, and access; ethical concerns related to privacy and security; political and regulatory factors affecting interoperability and lack of standards; inclusive/human-centric design and issues; and inherent economic and distribution channel difficulties. The paper concludes with a summary of research questions and issues that form a framework for global research priorities

Support dementia: using wearable assistive technology and analysing real-time data

Support provided to sufferers of Dementia by the National Health Service (NHS) is mainly in the form of personal attendants such as nurses and social workers. The main focus of this paper is to present how the use of assistive technologies can help early sufferers of Dementia patients to overcome barriers in achieving their daily activities and to illustrate how data analytics, such as Complex Event Processing (CEP) in real-time can allow better monitoring of these patients. This activity will contribute to research work which is to provide a suitable framework to accurately analyse real-time data from assistive technology and wearable devices for remote healthcare, particularly monitoring early sufferers of dementia in order to promote good quality independent living

Effects of spermidine supplementation on cognition and biomarkers in older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SmartAge)—study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Given the global increase in the aging population and age-related diseases, the promotion of healthy aging is one of the most crucial public health issues. This trial aims to contribute to the establishment of effective approaches to promote cognitive and brain health in older individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Presence of SCD is known to increase the risk of objective cognitive decline and progression to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, it is our primary goal to determine whether spermidine supplementation has a positive impact on memory performance in this at-risk group, as compared with placebo. The secondary goal is to examine the effects of spermidine intake on other neuropsychological, behavioral, and physiological parameters. Methods: The SmartAge trial is a monocentric, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase IIb trial. The study will investigate 12 months of intervention with spermidine-based nutritional supplementation (target intervention) compared with 12months of placebo intake (control intervention). We plan to recruit 100 cognitively normal older individuals with SCD from memory clinics, neurologists and general practitioners in private practice, and the general population. Participants will be allocated to one of the two study arms using blockwise randomization stratified by age and sex with a 1:1 allocation ratio. The primary outcome is the change in memory performance between baseline and post-intervention visits (12 months after baseline). Secondary outcomes include the change in memory performance from baseline to follow-up assessment (18months after baseline), as well as changes in neurocognitive, behavioral, and physiological parameters (including blood and neuroimaging biomarkers), assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Discussion: The SmartAge trial aims to provide evidence of the impact of spermidine supplementation on memory performance in older individuals with SCD. In addition, we will identify possible neurophysiological mechanisms of action underlying the anticipated cognitive benefits. Overall, this trial will contribute to the establishment of nutrition intervention in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease

Silver Dreams Fund Learning and Evaluation Contract: Final report June 2014

This is a summary of the Final Report which presents the findings of the evaluation of the Big Lottery Fund's Silver Dreams Fund conducted by Ecorys.The Silver Dreams Fund was a £10 million programme which sought to address the gaps in provision by challenging organisations to come up with an innovative idea for a project that would "pioneer ways to help vulnerable older people deal more effectively with life-changing events".Our approach involved both formative and summative elements and was based upon a robust and evidence-based outcome evaluation framework. In addition, we have also undertaken an evaluation of the new programme management processes employed by the Big Lottery Fund which has been reported separately.In summary, the evaluation involved:- development of an evaluation framework and common indicators to measure outcomes;- provision of a package of self-evaluation support to projects;- programme level work to provide independent primary qualitative research and to validate findings from self-evaluations;- a range of learning activities; and- analysis and reporting

Internet of Things (IoT) for Automated and Smart Applications

Internet of Things (IoT) is a recent technology paradigm that creates a global network of machines and devices that are capable of communicating with each other. Security cameras, sensors, vehicles, buildings, and software are examples of devices that can exchange data between each other. IoT is recognized as one of the most important areas of future technologies and is gaining vast recognition in a wide range of applications and fields related to smart homes and cities, military, education, hospitals, homeland security systems, transportation and autonomous connected cars, agriculture, intelligent shopping systems, and other modern technologies. This book explores the most important IoT automated and smart applications to help the reader understand the principle of using IoT in such applications

The social health and well-being of people with memory problems and dementia

This thesis explores how mobility research can contribute to the development of the concept of social health for dementia. Specifically, the focus is on the mobility of people with memory problems and dementia and how interactions with the social and built environment support social health and well-being. This thesis begins with an overview of dementia, social health and how understanding the mobility of people with memory problems and dementia can support social health and well-being. Additionally, the introduction describes the context of this thesis in both a description of the Dutch setting and how the study is embedded in the COORDINATEs project, a larger international, interdisciplinary research project