Abstract
Background and aimsPopulation ageing is a typical phenomenon of developed countries with a great influence in their economy and society, with an increment on age-related expenditures. Disruptive solutions are needed to deploy new cost-effective and sustainable solutions for aging well and independent living of our seniors. In this sense, new technological paradigms as IoT technologies and smart cities have the potential to become main drivers for innovation uptake. The purpose of this study is to describe a longitudinal cohort study in smart cities for assessing early frailty symptoms deploying an unobtrusive IoT-based system in the Madrid city.MethodsA system was deployed in the Madrid city with the participation of 45 elderly users for an average of 71 weeks. Metrics were assessed by the available sensors in combination with the open data infrastructure of Madrid. Metrics include activity of the user, weekly visits pattern and transport daily usage pattern. System engagement was also monitored. Participants are assessed bimonthly with health and functional questionnaires.Results45 older adults with a mean age of 79.1 years. Participants activity patterns monitor detected changes during potentially risky situations that usually were not reported by traditional assessment tools. Analysis of data collected enabled to identify absence of frailty (robust or post-robust status)Discussion and conclusionsThe results demonstrate the feasibility of engaging older adults with an IoT-based system and the successful collection of their activity metrics. Variation in the activity patterns may be a first sign of functional decline and enables to identify potential areas of early intervention.
Highlights
Population of older adults in Europe is increasing
This document analyses the impact of a smart city on the early detection of clinical ageing-related events that could go unnoticed by the traditional health assessment tools in a very early stage
Physical activity and exercise in older adults are associated with lower rates of cognitive impairment and depression [6]. With all these evidences suggesting physical activity as frailty assessment element, we propose the validation of unobtrusive monitoring systems that take advantage from the citizen’s smartphone sensors (GPS, IMU, system clock, etc.), and the smart city infrastructure itself, such as public buses of Madrid open network, municipality’s open data, aims to conclude the individual frailty status using data gathered from older citizens daily activity while moving around the city, including individual’s activity patterns, visited places while they move in terms of public places like shops, health infrastructures, sport areas, etc. and private place, like relatives and friends’ home mainly and the use of the transport
Summary
Population of older adults in Europe is increasing. The impact over the public welfare and care systems is evident. Innovation in methods of managing ageing functional decline is critical in balancing the needs of older adults with limited health-care resources In this sense, the concentration of population around cities offers opportunities that better manage dedicated aging resources [1]. This document analyses the impact of a smart city on the early detection of clinical ageing-related events that could go unnoticed by the traditional health assessment tools in a very early stage. This is especially important for ageing syndromes, such as frailty, in which prompt detection can prevent, even reverse [3], this condition, improving life expectancies of the affected individuals. Variation in the activity patterns may be a first sign of functional decline and enables to identify potential areas of early intervention
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