Using Technology to Enhance Aging in Place

Integrated sensor networks have been installed in apartments of residents at TigerPlace, a retirement community helping residents age in place. Motion and bed sensor events have been logged continuously for over two years in some apartments. Using data from the sensor network, we have been investigating potential correlations to health events, such as falls, emergency room visits, and hospitalization, to identify patterns in the sensor data which might have offered some clues to predict the events. The long-term goal is to generate alerts that notify care givers of changes in a resident's condition so they could intervene and prevent or delay adverse health events. In this paper, two case studies are presented. In each case, the sensor network detected changes in the resident's condition that were not detected by traditional health care assessment.