methodology-for-establishing-community-wide-life-laboratory-for

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data

An end-to-end suite of technologies has been established for the unobtrusive and continuous monitoring of health and activity changes occurring in the ...

Oregon Health & Science University

Traditionally, assessment of functional and cognitive status of individuals with dementia occurs in brief clinic visits during which time clinicians extract a snapshot of recent changes in individuals' health. Conventionally, this is done using various clinical assessment tools applied at the point of care and relies on patients' and caregivers' ability to accurately recall daily activity and trends in personal health. These practices suffer from the infrequency and generally short durations of visits. Since 2004, researchers at the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) at the Oregon Health and Science University have been working on developing technologies to transform this model. ORCATECH researchers have developed a system of continuous in-home monitoring using pervasive computing technologies that make it possible to more accurately track activities and behaviors and measure relevant intra-individual changes. We have installed a system of strategically placed sensors in over 480 homes and have been collecting data for up to 8 years. Using this continuous in-home monitoring system, ORCATECH researchers have collected data on multiple behaviors such as gait and mobility, sleep and activity patterns, medication adherence, and computer use. Patterns of intra-individual variation detected in each of these areas are used to predict outcomes such as low mood, loneliness, and cognitive function. These methods have the potential to improve the quality of patient health data and in turn patient care especially related to cognitive decline. Furthermore, the continuous real-world nature of the data may improve the efficiency and ecological validity of clinical intervention studies. 

Pervasive Computing Technologies to Continuously Assess Alzheimer's Disease Progression and Intervention Efficacy.

[This corrects the article on p. 102 in vol. 7, PMID: 26113819.]. 

Corrigendum: Pervasive computing technologies to continuously assess Alzheimer's disease progression and intervention efficacy.

Driving is a key functional activity for many older adults, and changes in routine driving may be associated with emerging cognitive decline due to early neurodegenerative disease. Current methods for assessing driving such as self-report are inadequate for identifying and monitoring subtle changes in driving patterns that may be the earliest signals of functional change in developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Passive Assessment of Routine Driving with Unobtrusive Sensors: A New Approach for Identifying and Monitoring Functional Level in Normal Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Subtle changes in instrumental activities of daily living often accompany the onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but are difficult to measure using conventional tests.

Weekly observations of online survey metadata obtained through home computer use allow for detection of changes in everyday cognition before transition to mild cognitive impairment.

Multimodal interventions are increasingly targeting multiple cognitive decline risk factors. However, technology remains mostly adjunctive, largely prioritizes age relevancy over cultural relevancy, and often targets individual health without lasting, community-wide deliverables. Meanwhile, African Americans remain overburdened by cognitive risk factors yet underrepresented in cognitive health and technology studies. The Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-imagery (SHARP) program increases physical, social, and cognitive activity within a culturally meaningful context that produces community deliverables-an oral history archive and cognitive health education.

Nicole Sharma

Department of Neurology,
ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology,
Department of Neurology, ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology

Oregon Health & Science University

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data

Nicole Sharma

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Neurology,ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology,Department of Neurology, ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology

Oregon Health & Science University

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data

Department of Neurology,
ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology,
Department of Neurology, ORCATECH - Oregon Center for Aging & Technology