Experiences of in-home evaluation of independent living technologies for older adults

Evaluating home-based independent living technologies for older adults is essential. Whilst older adults are a diverse group with a range of computing experiences, it is likely that many of this user group may have little experience with technology and may be challenged with age-related impairments that can further impact upon their interaction with technology. However, the evaluation life cycle of independent living technologies does not only involve usability testing of such technologies in the home. It must also consider the evaluation of the older adult’s living space to ensure technologies can be easily integrated into their homes and daily routines. Assessing the impact of these technologies on older adults is equally critical as they can only be successful if older adults are willing to accept and adopt them. In this paper we present three case studies that illustrate the evaluation life cycle of independent living technologies within TRIL, which include ethnographic assessment of participant attitudes and expectations, evaluation of the living space prior to the deployment of any technology, to the final evaluation of usability and participant perspectives

Understanding Fukushima: designing for an embodied interaction with citizen science data

This thesis uses the radiation events in Fukushima as a case study for exploring the possible use of phenomenological theory to assess information gathering methods as well as suggesting possible ways of communicating this information. Embodied interaction is used as a theoretical framework for designing an interaction with information gathered from Fukushima but interacted with in a remote time and place. This is realised through an interactive installation that emphasises the use of the body in the act of making meaning from information. As a seperate but complimentary investigation, when information is urgently needed, crowd-sourced, citizen science activities and new media tools are highlighted as invaluable assets in comparison to traditional news media and institutional scientific enquiry. The aim of the thesis is to build a method of approaching information about environmental issues. This method includes recognising information gathering techniques and new media tools and focussing on the body as a vital perceptual tool in the act of information gathering and in the act of creating meaning from representations of information

Older adults, falls and technologies for independent living: a life space approach

This paper draws attention to the need for further understanding of the fine details of routine and taken-for-granted daily activities and mobility. It argues that such understanding is critical if technologies designed to mitigate the negative impacts of falls and fear-of-falling are to provide unobtrusive support for independent living. The reported research was part of a large, multidisciplinary, multi-site research programme into responses to population ageing in Ireland, Technologies for Independent Living (TRIL). A small, exploratory, qualitative life-space diary study was conducted. Working with eight community-dwelling older adults with different experiences of falls or of fear-of-falls, data were collected through weekly life-space diaries, daily-activity logs, two-dimensional house plans and a pedometer. For some participants, self-recording of their daily activities and movements revealed routine, potentially risky behaviour about which they had been unaware, which may have implications for falls-prevention advice. The findings are presented and discussed around four key themes: ‘being pragmatic’, ‘not just a faller’, ‘heightened awareness and blind spots’ and ‘working with technology’. The findings suggest a need to think creatively about how technological and other solutions best fit with people's everyday challenges and needs and of critical importance, that their installation does not reduce an older adult to ‘just a faller’ or a person with a fear-of-falls

BiometryNet: Landmark-based Fetal Biometry Estimation from Standard Ultrasound Planes

Fetal growth assessment from ultrasound is based on a few biometric measurements that are performed manually and assessed relative to the expected gestational age. Reliable biometry estimation depends on the precise detection of landmarks in standard ultrasound planes. Manual annotation can be time-consuming and operator dependent task, and may results in high measurements variability. Existing methods for automatic fetal biometry rely on initial automatic fetal structure segmentation followed by geometric landmark detection. However, segmentation annotations are time-consuming and may be inaccurate, and landmark detection requires developing measurement-specific geometric methods. This paper describes BiometryNet, an end-to-end landmark regression framework for fetal biometry estimation that overcomes these limitations. It includes a novel Dynamic Orientation Determination (DOD) method for enforcing measurement-specific orientation consistency during network training. DOD reduces variabilities in network training, increases landmark localization accuracy, thus yields accurate and robust biometric measurements. To validate our method, we assembled a dataset of 3,398 ultrasound images from 1,829 subjects acquired in three clinical sites with seven different ultrasound devices. Comparison and cross-validation of three different biometric measurements on two independent datasets shows that BiometryNet is robust and yields accurate measurements whose errors are lower than the clinically permissible errors, outperforming other existing automated biometry estimation methods. Code is available at https://github.com/netanellavisdris/fetalbiometry

Fear of falling and older adult peer production of audio-visual discussion material

A growing body of work suggests that negative stereotypes of, and associations between, falling, fear of falling, and ageing, may mean that older adults reject falls information and advice. Against a widely accepted backdrop of demographic ageing in Europe and that alleviating the impacts of falls and fear of falling are pressing health care matters, this is a critical issue. This paper describes a recent peer learning and sharing strategy that set out to iteratively produce a series of short audio visual discussion programs on falling and fear of falling. Key outcomes included older adults appreciating peer group sharing as an acceptable way of opening up the silence surrounding falls incidences, enjoying participating in a problem solving strategy, and emphasizing that falls prevention is not just their responsibility. Outcomes suggest that peer learning and sharing are valuable falls and fear of falling support strategies

Older adults, falls and technologies for independent living: a life space approach

This paper draws attention to the need for further understanding of the fine details of routine and taken-for-granted daily activities and mobility. It argues that such understanding is critical if technologies designed to mitigate the negative impacts of falls and fear-of-falling are to provide unobtrusive support for independent living. The reported research was part of a large, multidisciplinary, multi-site research programme into responses to population ageing in Ireland, Technologies for Independent Living (TRIL). A small, exploratory, qualitative life-space diary study was conducted. Working with eight community-dwelling older adults with different experiences of falls or of fear-of-falls, data were collected through weekly life-space diaries, daily-activity logs, two-dimensional house plans and a pedometer. For some participants, self-recording of their daily activities and movements revealed routine, potentially risky behaviour about which they had been unaware, which may have implications for falls-prevention advice. The findings are presented and discussed around four key themes : \u27being pragmatic\u27, \u27not just a faller\u27, \u27heightened awareness and blind spots\u27 and \u27working with technology\u27. The findings suggest a need to think creatively about how technological and other solutions best fit with people\u27s everyday challenges and needs and of critical importance, that their installation does not reduce an older adult to \u27just a faller\u27 or a person with a fear-of-falls

“ENDEA”: a case study of multidisciplinary practice in the development of assisted technologies for older adults in Ireland

This paper seeks to discuss the authors' experiences of multidisciplinary practice in relation to developing home-based assisted living technologies. The paper draws on almost three years' experience of working within an ongoing, large, multi-sited and multidisciplinary Irish national research programme: the Technology for Independent Living Centre. This involved industry and academic partners. Teams of clinicians, physical and social scientists, technologists, engineers, designers and ethnographers worked with older adults to design, test and deliver, home-based technologies that focus on mitigating falls, keeping socially connected and maintaining or improving cognitive function. The authors' experiences and challenges are organised and presented through their retrospective team building model: ENDEA and through comparison with team building literature