Use of nonintrusive sensor-based information and communication technology for real-world evidence for clinical trials in dementia

Cognitive function is an important end point of treatments in dementia clinical trials. Measuring cognitive function by standardized tests, however, is biased toward highly constrained environments (such as hospitals) in selected samples. Patient-powered real-world evidence using information and communication technology devices, including environmental and wearable sensors, may help to overcome these limitations. This position paper describes current and novel information and communication technology devices and algorithms to monitor behavior and function in people with prodromal and manifest stages of dementia continuously, and discusses clinical, technological, ethical, regulatory, and user-centered requirements for collecting real-world evidence in future randomized controlled trials. Challenges of data safety, quality, and privacy and regulatory requirements need to be addressed by future smart sensor technologies. When these requirements are satisfied, these technologies will provide access to truly user relevant outcomes and broader cohorts of participants than currently sampled in clinical trials

When technology cares for people with dementia:A critical review using neuropsychological rehabilitation as a conceptual framework

Clinicians and researchers have become increasingly interested in the potential of technology in assisting persons with dementia (PwD). However, several issues have emerged in relation to how studies have conceptualized who the main technology user is (PwD/carer), how technology is used (as compensatory, environment modification, monitoring or retraining tool), why it is used (i.e., what impairments and/or disabilities are supported) and what variables have been considered as relevant to support engagement with technology. In this review we adopted a Neuropsychological Rehabilitation perspective to analyse 253 studies reporting on technological solutions for PwD. We analysed purposes/uses, supported impairments and disabilities and how engagement was considered. Findings showed that the most frequent purposes of technology use were compensation and monitoring, supporting orientation, sequencing complex actions and memory impairments in a wide range of activities. The few studies that addressed the issue of engagement with technology considered how the ease of use, social appropriateness, level of personalization, dynamic adaptation and carers' mediation allowed technology to adapt to PWD's and carers' preferences and performance. Conceptual and methodological tools emerged as outcomes of the analytical process, representing an important contribution to understanding the role of technologies to increase PwD's wellbeing and orient future research.University of Huddersfield, under grants URF301-01 and URF506-01

Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe

Gait Velocity Estimation using time interleaved between Consecutive Passive IR Sensor Activations

Gait velocity has been consistently shown to be an important indicator and predictor of health status, especially in older adults. It is often assessed clinically, but the assessments occur infrequently and do not allow optimal detection of key health changes when they occur. In this paper, we show that the time gap between activations of a pair of Passive Infrared (PIR) motion sensors installed in the consecutively visited room pair carry rich latent information about a person's gait velocity. We name this time gap transition time and show that despite a six second refractory period of the PIR sensors, transition time can be used to obtain an accurate representation of gait velocity. Using a Support Vector Regression (SVR) approach to model the relationship between transition time and gait velocity, we show that gait velocity can be estimated with an average error less than 2.5 cm/sec. This is demonstrated with data collected over a 5 year period from 74 older adults monitored in their own homes. This method is simple and cost effective and has advantages over competing approaches such as: obtaining 20 to 100x more gait velocity measurements per day and offering the fusion of location-specific information with time stamped gait estimates. These advantages allow stable estimates of gait parameters (maximum or average speed, variability) at shorter time scales than current approaches. This also provides a pervasive in-home method for context-aware gait velocity sensing that allows for monitoring of gait trajectories in space and time

Mobility and Cognition in Seniors. Report from the 2008 Institute of Aging (CIHR) Mobility and Cognition Workshop

Background The annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology was held on October 24 and 25, 2008 in London, Ontario. Prior to the annual meeting, mobility and cognition experts met on October 23, 2008 to engage in a pre-conference workshop. Methods Discussions during the workshop addressed novel areas of research and knowledge and research gaps pertaining to the interaction between mobility and cognition in seniors. Results Workshop presenters moved from the neuromuscular, biomechanics, and neurology of gait impairments, and falls through the role of cognition and mood on mobility regulation to the whole person in the environment. Research gaps were identified. Conclusions Despite a consensus that mobility and cognition are increasingly correlated as people age, several gaps in our understanding of mechanisms and how to assess the interaction were recognized. The gaps originally identified in 2008 are still pertinent today. Common and standardized assessments for “mobility and cognition” are still not in place in current practice. Interventions that target mobility and cognitive decline as a single entity are still lacking

Conversational affective social robots for ageing and dementia support

Socially assistive robots (SAR) hold significant potential to assist older adults and people with dementia in human engagement and clinical contexts by supporting mental health and independence at home. While SAR research has recently experienced prolific growth, long-term trust, clinical translation and patient benefit remain immature. Affective human-robot interactions are unresolved and the deployment of robots with conversational abilities is fundamental for robustness and humanrobot engagement. In this paper, we review the state of the art within the past two decades, design trends, and current applications of conversational affective SAR for ageing and dementia support. A horizon scanning of AI voice technology for healthcare, including ubiquitous smart speakers, is further introduced to address current gaps inhibiting home use. We discuss the role of user-centred approaches in the design of voice systems, including the capacity to handle communication breakdowns for effective use by target populations. We summarise the state of development in interactions using speech and natural language processing, which forms a baseline for longitudinal health monitoring and cognitive assessment. Drawing from this foundation, we identify open challenges and propose future directions to advance conversational affective social robots for: 1) user engagement, 2) deployment in real-world settings, and 3) clinical translation

Survey on virtual coaching for older adults

Virtual coaching has emerged as a promising solution to extend independent living for older adults. A virtual coach system is an always-attentive personalized system that continuously monitors user's activity and surroundings and delivers interventions - that is, intentional messages - in the appropriate moment. This article presents a survey of different approaches in virtual coaching for older adults, from the less technically supported tools to the latest developments and future avenues for research. It focuses on the technical aspects, especially on software architectures, user interaction and coaching personalization. Nevertheless, some aspects from the fields of personality/social psychology are also presented in the context of coaching strategies. Coaching is considered holistically, including matters such as physical and cognitive training, nutrition, social interaction and mood.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 769830