Abstract
Alzheimer’s and related dementia are associated with a gradual decline in cognitive abilities of an individual, impairing independent living abilities. Wandering, a purposeless disoriented locomotion tendency or behavior of dementia patients, requires constant caregiver supervision to reduce the risk of phys-ical harm to patients. Integrating technology into care ecology has the potential to alleviate stress and expense. An automatic wandering detection system integrated with an intervention mod-ule may provide warnings and assistive suggestions in times of abnormal behavior. In this study, we survey existing research on technology aided methodologies and algorithms used in detection and management of wandering behavior of individuals affected with dementia. Our study provides insights into mechanisms of collecting movement data and finding patterns that distinguish wandering from normal behavior.
Highlights
Dementia is a neuro-degenerative disease that decreases independence
Unattended aimless roaming of a patient may lead to agitation, fatigue, vertigo and in extreme cases physical harm due to falling or colliding with objects in the vicinity [2]
We explore three algorithms for detecting spatial disorientation and five algorithms to distinguish the four geographical patterns proposed by MartinoSaltzman et al [21] to detect wandering behavior
Summary
Dementia is a neuro-degenerative disease that decreases independence. Dementia affects the lives of ∼ 47 million people worldwide [1], which is estimated to increase to 131.5 million in 2050. Dementia is sometimes revealed through ‘wandering’, which is a pervasive behavioral symptom in dementia patients [3] It is defined as “a syndrome of dementia-related locomotion behavior having a frequent, repetitive, temporally disordered, and/or spatially-disoriented nature that is manifested in lapping, random, and/or pacing patterns, some of which are associated with eloping, eloping attempts, or getting lost unless accompanied” [4]. It may be triggered by various factors such as frustration, the intent for socialization or work, boredom or escaping tendencies [3]; it is quite unforeseeable and requires supervision for detection and arbitration. Wandering has been identified as one of the main reasons for nursing home placement or institutionalization [5], as it has proven to be too arduous for caregivers to manage in home environments
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