The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will include providing affordable connected home care for senior citizens (often with severe chronic conditions and incurring significant medical expenses) living independently at home, resulting in significant improvements in healthcare quality and a reduced burden on existing healthcare resources. This project will not only decrease the burden on family caregivers, who often give up their jobs to provide free care for senior citizens at home, but will also allow organizations such as retirement communities, memory care units and assisted living facilities to monitor multiple patients remotely, thus reducing the need for overworked professional caregivers. This project also aims to overcome deficits present in current home health monitoring technologies by taking a more holistic approach to providing preventive care by using advanced analytics and cutting edge sensor technology that is affordable and accessible to all. The proposed project aims to overcome a pressing societal challenge (the burgeoning aging population) facing many developed and emerging countries, including the U.S. (the aging baby boomers) and China (the reverse 4-2-1 family pyramid due to the former one-child policy). Despite failing health, most senior citizens prefer to live independently at home and hence the focus of current healthcare technologies has shifted from traditional clinical care to "at-home" care for senior citizens. The proposed project will develop a smart and connected home monitoring system for senior care that is unique in its technology and service model including: (1) affordable and non-invasive home-based mobile health technology with wearable human and object activity sensors for monitoring health-related motion and daily activities and a cost-effective pre-configured home gateway using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and 3G communication; (2) advanced mobile health analytics algorithms and alerts for fall detection, health progression monitoring, and patient health anomaly detection; and (3) a comprehensive patient health activity portal and support for reporting user activity and health status and engaging with family members. The overall goal is to make aging at home easier, less expensive, and safer for senior citizens.
