Mobility Of Elderly People Research Articles

Automation of the Timed Up and Go Test Using a Doppler Radar System for Gait and Balance Analysis in Elderly People.

The timed up and go (TUG) test is a simple, valid, and reliable clinical tool that is widely used to assess mobility in elderly people. Several research studies have been conducted to automate the TUG test using wearable sensors or motion-tracking systems. Despite their promising results, the adopted technological systems present inconveniences in terms of acceptability and privacy protection. In this work, we propose to overcome these problems by using a Doppler radar system set into the backrest of a chair in order to automate the TUG test and extract additional information from its phases (i.e., transfer, walk, and turn). We intend to segment its phases and extract spatiotemporal gait parameters automatically. Our methodology is mainly based on a multiresolution analysis of radar signals. We proposed a segmentation technique based on the extraction of limbs oscillations signals through a semisupervised machine learning approach, on the one hand, and the application of the DARC algorithm on the other hand. Once the speed signals of torso and limbs oscillations were detected, we suggested estimating 14 gait parameters. All our approaches were validated by comparing outcomes to those obtained from a reference Vicon system. High correlation coefficients were obtained by comparing the speed signals of the torso (ρ=0.8), the speed signals of limbs oscillations (ρ=0.91), the initial and final indices of TUG phases (ρ=0.95), and the extracted parameters (percentage error < 4.8) obtained after radar signal processing to those obtained from the Vicon system.

Analysing the Correlation of Geriatric Assessment Scores and Activity in Smart Homes

A continuous monitoring of the physical strength and mobility of elderly people is important for maintaining their health and treating diseases at an early stage. However, frequent screenings by physicians are exceeding the logistic capacities. An alternate approach is the automatic and unobtrusive collection of functional measures by ambient sensors. In the current publication, we show the correlation among data of ambient motion sensors and the well-established mobility assessments Short-PhysicalPerformance-Battery, Tinetti and Timed Up &amp; Go. We use the average number of motion sensor events as activity measure for correlation with the assessment scores. The evaluation on a real-world dataset shows a moderate to strong correlation with the scores of standardised geriatrics physical assessments.

Analysis of the Activity and Travel Patterns of the Elderly Using Mobile Phone-Based Hourly Locational Trajectory Data: Case Study of Gangnam, Korea

Rapid demographic ageing is a global challenge and has tremendous implications for transportation planning, because the mobility of elderly people is an essential element for active ageing. Although many studies have been conducted on this issue, most of them have been focused on aggregated travel patterns of the elderly, limited in spatiotemporal analysis, and most importantly primarily relied on sampled (2–3%) household travel surveys, omitting some trips and having concerns of quality and credibility. The objectives of this study are to present more in-depth analysis of the elderly’s spatiotemporal activity and travel behaviors, to compare them with other age and gender groups, and to draw implications for sustainable transportation for the elderly. For our analysis, we used locational trajectory-based mobile phone data in Gangnam, Korea. The data differs from sampled household travel survey data, as mobile phone data represents the entire population and can capture comprehensive travelers’ movements, including peculiarities. Consistent with previous researches, the results of this study showed that there were differences in activity and travel patterns between age and gender groups. However, some different results were obtained as well: for instance, the average nonhome activity time per person for the elderly was shorter than that of the nonelderly, but the average numbers of nonhome activities and trips were rather higher than those of nonelderly people. The results of this study and advantage of using mobile phone data will help policymakers understand the activities and movements of the elderly and prepare future sustainable transportation.

Aquatic physiotherapy in the functional capacity of elderly with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract Introduction: Physicaltherapy in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) acts to decrease pain, increase joint functionality and to promote improvement in quality of life. Objective: To analyze the effect of a structured program of aquatic physiotherapy (AP) on functional capacity (FC) and mobility of elderly people with OA. Methods: Prospective, quantitative and analytical, randomized control study. The sample consisted of 29 patients, aged 60 years or over, diagnosed with OA, randomly allocated to the intervention group (IG), composed of 17 participants who underwent BP for two months, and to the control group (CG) of 12 participants. The primary outcome was measured by the WOMAC instruments and six-minute walk test. As a secondary endpoint, the Timed Up and Go Test measured mobility. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to present the data, with mean and standard deviation values. The comparison between groups for potential confounding factors and in relation to evolution was performed using the non-parametric chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Dunn's test for multiple comparisons. The differences were considered statistically significant when p &lt; 0.05. Results: There was a significant difference in physical and functional parameters related to pain (p &lt; 0.001), stiffness (p &lt; 0.001) physical activity (p &lt; 0.001), distance covered in six minutes (p = 0.001), and mobility (p &lt; 0.001) when comparing IG to CG. Conclusion: The structured AP program effectively contributed to the improvement of FC and mobility of elderly people with knee OA.

Effect of Motor Dual-Task Training Over Progressive Resisted Exercises on Balance and Mobility in Elderly People

Effect of Motor Dual-Task Training Over Progressive Resisted Exercises on Balance and Mobility in Elderly People

Mobility of Elderly People in Areas with Traffic Inconvenience, and Desirable Outing Support Measures

Mobility of Elderly People in Areas with Traffic Inconvenience, and Desirable Outing Support Measures

Prevalence and effect of medial meniscus tear in elderly persons -the bunkyo health study

Purpose: The meniscus has a function of dispersing the mechanical load applied to the knee joint. It has been recently revealed that meniscal tear is frequently observed in middle aged and elderly people with/without knee osteoarthritis (knee OA). Meniscal damage leads to the stress concentration to the joints and is, thus, it is becoming clear that meniscus damage is a risk factor for the onset and progression of knee OA. In resent MRI based cohort data, the prevalence of medial meniscal tear with no symptom in middle-aged and elderly is reported to be 28%. However, there is no similar report from large-scale cohort data for the prevalence of meniscus tear and the effect of meniscus tear for pain and mobility in elderly peoples. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence of meniscal tear and the effect of meniscus tear for pain and mobility in elderly people. Methods: A total of 1,630 subjects aged between from 65 to 84 years of age participated in the Bunkyo Health Study during from November 2015 to September 2018. 1,191 subjects underwent both the plain radiograph in the standing position and MRI on knee joint (Hitachi, 0.3T). As 46 among 1,191 subjects who showed lateral type of knee OA (femoro-tibial angle <173) were excluded, the remaining 1145 subjects (55.7% females, 72.9 years of age on average) were analyzed. A radiographic severity of knee OA was classified into four grades using the Kellgren-Lawrence (K/L) classification. The medial meniscal tear was evaluated according to MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS). The linear lesion, which reached the femoral cartilage and / or the tibial cartilage, the complete root tear, and the empty meniscus were defined as a meniscus tear. The region of the medial meniscal tear was described with each five sections (anterior, body, posterior, posterior horn and root) using coronal and sagittal proton density weighted fat suppression (PDFS) images. A p-value less than 5% was considered to be statistically significant. All analyses were undertaken using the statistical package SPSS. Results: The severity of radiographic medial knee OA of the subjects in the present study was 16 (1.4%) for K/L 1, 986 (86.1%) for K/L 2, 106 (9.3%) for K/L 3, and 37 (3.2%) for K/L 4. Medial meniscus lesions were also detected in almost all cases (1144 cases, 99.8%). The medial meniscus tears were detected 453 persons (39.6%; K/L 1: 31.3%, K/L 2: 35.2%, K/L 3: 65.1%, K/L 4: 86.5%). Prevalence of the medial meniscus tears were increased with each generation (p<0.001): 31.8% for 65∼70 years of age, 40.0% for 70∼75 of age, 47.6% for 75∼80 years of age, 52.2% for >80 years of age. The risk of existing medial meniscus tear was significantly higher in K/L 3 and 4 group compared to K/L 1 and 2 group. (odds ratio: 4.6, 95%CI 3.1-6.8). The region of medial meniscus tear was 11.7% in anterior, 27.4% in body, 25.4% in posterior, 62.7% in posterior horn and root. In comparison between with and without medial meniscus tear, the medial meniscus tear group showed larger FTA, larger pain VAS and lower walk speed (adjusted age, BMI and sex, p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions: In the present population-based study, most of the subjects among the middle aged and elderly populations who did not require the medical treatment for their knee joint showed the K/L grade 2 of radiographic knee OA change. In addition, almost all the subjects had medial meniscus lesion, and nearly half of the subjects had medial meniscus tear. In addition, the probability of medial meniscal tears increased with age. The frequency of pain awareness and walking inability also increased with the prevalence of medial meniscus tear.

Influence of sensory integration training on mental mobility of elderly people with MCI

With increasing age, in general, the human intelligence level is gradually decreasing. Mild cognitive impairment, abbreviated as MCI, is a type of cognitive dysfunction that commonly occurs in the aged and balances the normal state of aging and senile dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is easily converted to Alzheimer's disease elderly if it is not controlled in time. In order to study how to better train the aged in MCI and design related training systems to help the aged to delay the MCI's circle, a sensory comprehensive training is conducted to study on the impact of mental mobility in the old MCI in this article. The final research results show that sensory integration training can improve the state of mental mobility in MCI elderly by strengthening the training of MCI elderly sense andtouch.

Influence of Safe Driving Support System for Electric Wheelchair on Operation Input

This paper describes the influence on operation input which is given by a safe driving support system for an electric wheelchair. A wheelchair is rapidly introduced as a mobility for elderly people who has disabilities on walking. Along with that, collision accidents of the wheelchair also increase and many causes are mistakes of operation and recognition of a driver. Therefore we developed the safe driving support system which contains a Laser Range Finder (LRF) and Ultrasonic Sensors (USSs) for obstacle detection. The wheelchair avoids the collision based on degrees of collision risk which is calculated based on fuzzy reasoning from control input of joystick and the distance for obstacles measured by the LRF and USSs. The system not only affects motion of the wheelchair, but also the driver’s condition and judgement for driving. We confirmed that the system enhances a controllability and safety, and influences operation input of driver from some experimental results.

Three months of multimodal training contributes to mobility and executive function in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment, but not in those with Alzheimer's disease: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of a 12-week multimodal physical exercise program on global cognition, executive function and mobility in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD). DesignRandomized controlled trial (RCT) of two groups in parallel; single-blind. MethodPatients were allocated to a control group (CG; n = 28 comprising MCI = 14 and AD = 14) and an exercise group (EG; n = 28 comprising MCI = 14 and AD = 14). The participants’ physical and cognitive abilities were evaluated before and three months after the intervention. The training consisted of a 1-hour supervised program of multimodal physical exercises (aerobic, strength, balance and flexibility) of moderate intensity, delivered twice a week. ResultsThe independent t-test of the delta (Δ = post-intervention – pre-intervention) was used to compare the groups (CG x EG) for each diagnosis (MCI and AD). There was a significant difference only in the simple task mobility test (ΔCG: −0.18 ± 0.53; ΔEG: −1.05 ± 0.57; P = 0.03) and in the verbal fluency (ΔCG: −1.30 ± 2.49; ΔEG: 3.16 ± 1.72, P = 0.05) of the elderly with MCI, showing a beneficial effect of the multimodal exercise in this group. ConclusionOur findings indicate that a 12-week multimodal physical exercise program contributed to improvements in the mobility and executive function of elderly individuals with MCI, but not of those with AD. Although more RCTs are needed, physical exercise should be recommended to those in the early stages of neurocognitive disorder.

Elderly people's mobility needs in cities

Nowadays population ageing is one of the most important challenge in the world. In this paper basic definitions related to old age and population ageing were presented. Predictions of population growth in several dozen of years in different world regions were described in detail. Predictions taking the elderly people into account were emphasized. Based on available data, demographic changes in chosen EU countries were compared. In addition statistic data related to population in Poland and increase in the number of elderly people in several Polish regions were presented. The growth of elderly people in population influences many aspects of urban life. Statistic research shows that most of elderly people, despite of good mental fitness, meet some restrictions, that make their life in cities more difficult, especially including travelling and achieving basic travel purposes. Thus it is necessary to get knowledge on basic elderly people’s needs, as it allows to design cities which are friendly to seniors. The modal split in the elderly peoples’ journeys in EU countries was presented on the basis of the literature review. Also elderly people’s mobility needs as well as the most important factors influencing seniors’ mobility were identified.

The Effect of Thoracic Cage Mobilization and Breathing Exercise of Respiratory Function, Spinal Curve and Spinal Mobility in Elderly with Restrictive Lung Disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combined respiratory physical therapy on respiratory function, spinal curve and spinal mobility for community-dwelling elderlies with restrictive lung diseases. In total, 10 patients participated in an 8-week intervention program of thoracic cage mobilization and breathing exercise in combination. The results of the study are as follows: for respiratory function, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity(FVC), and FEV1/FVC were significantly improved to .30±0.31l, .46±.42l, and 18.10±11.39%, respectively (p<.05). For spinal curve, the thoracic curve and the lumbar curve were improved significantly to -2.20±1.40° and -1.20±1.14°, respectively (p<.01). For spinal mobility, the thoracic flexion (3.40±2.99°), thoracic extension (3.50±1.43°), lumbar flexion (4.50±4.74°), and lumbar extension(- 1.50±1.84°) were all significantly improved (p<.05). These findings indicate that thoracic cage mobilization and breathing exercise in combination improve the respiratory function, spinal alignment, and spinal mobility in elderly people with restrictive lung diseases,

Designing for way-finding as practices – A study of elderly people's mobility

Abstract Mobility assistance ICTs have become important companions in daily life as digital affordances have become sophisticated. However, understanding and researching everyday way-finding is still challenging, mainly because of the sheer difficulty of collecting empirical data about concrete occasions of use. Hence, we argue that those methodological challenges make it harder to understand the mobility needs of certain user groups. We aim to address this gap while focusing on elderly people, a user group that has increasingly become a focus of HCI studies, and ask the following questions: (1) What are the everyday way-finding practices of that user group? And (2) how can these be supported by mobility assistance ICTs? For answering them, we developed a methodological framework to study daily mobility as way-finding practices and conducted an interview study with 15 ‘young elderly’ people supplemented with a probing technique. The paper concludes with reflections on the potential for and limits to, the study of, and designing for, way-finding as practices.

Hazardous Object Detection by Using Kinect Sensor in a Handle-Type Electric Wheelchair.

To ensure the safety of a handle-type electric wheelchair (hereinafter, electric wheelchair), this paper describes the applicability of using a Kinect sensor. Ensuring the mobility of elderly people is a particularly important issue to be resolved. An electric wheelchair is useful as a means of transportation for elderly people. Considering that the users of electric wheelchairs are elderly people, it is important to ensure the safety of electric wheelchairs at night. To ensure the safety of an electric wheelchair at night, we constructed a hazardous object detection system using commercially available and inexpensive Kinect sensors and examined the applicability of the system. We examined warning timing with consideration to the cognition, judgment, and operation time of elderly people. Based on this, a hazardous object detection area was determined. Furthermore, the detection of static and dynamic hazardous objects was carried out at night and the results showed that the system was able to detect with high accuracy. We also conducted experiments related to dynamic hazardous object detection during daytime. From the above, it showed that the system could be applicable to ensuring the safety of the handle-type electric wheelchair.

Adaptive and technology-independent architecture for fault-tolerant distributed AAL solutions

Today's architectures for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) must cope with a variety of challenges like flawless sensor integration and time synchronization (e.g. for sensor data fusion) while abstracting from the underlying technologies at the same time. Furthermore, an architecture for AAL must be capable to manage distributed application scenarios in order to support elderly people in all situations of their everyday life. This encompasses not just life at home but in particular the mobility of elderly people (e.g. when going for a walk or having sports) as well. Within this paper we will introduce a novel architecture for distributed AAL solutions whose design follows a modern Microservices approach by providing small core services instead of a monolithic application framework. The architecture comprises core services for sensor integration, and service discovery while supporting several communication models (periodic, sporadic, streaming). We extend the state-of-the-art by introducing a fault-tolerance model for our architecture on the basis of a fault-hypothesis describing the fault-containment regions (FCRs) with their respective failure modes and failure rates in order to support safety-critical AAL applications.

DRIVING-RELATED RISKS AND MOBILITY IN ELDERLY DRIVERS WITH MCI.

AbstractThe impact of cognitive decline on driving safety and mobility in drivers with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains unclear. Therefore a cross-sectional study was carried out, to clarify the risk of elderly drivers with MCI compared to controls and to clarify whether MCI affects personal mobility on elderly drivers. 133 community-dwelling elderly drivers applied to baseline survey, 8 were excluded following exclusion criteria: (1) general cognitive impairment (MMSE < 21: n=1), and (2) driving cessation at baseline (n=7). And 125 participants were divided into control group (n=93) or MCI group (n=32). At baseline, participants were assessed individually cognitive and psychiatric state, driving-related risks based on performances of driving simulator (DS) and self-reported driving event (crashes, traffic citations, and unrecorded mistakes), driving behavior, and mobility. The frequency of traffic citation is larger in the control group compared to the MCI group, whereas there were no statistically significant differences between groups in a frequency of crashes and unrecorded driving mistakes. Both the number of miles driven/week and travel distance/week showed no different between groups, but the area of driving and travelling were reduced slightly in elderly drivers with MCI. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences of DS performance between groups. These results support the finding from other studies showing that cognitive decline is associated with scale-down of personal mobility in elderly people. The current study could not demonstrate pronounced decline of driving ability in drivers with MCI. Prospective studies will need to clear driving-related risks in elderly drivers with MCI.

Nursing Diagnosis of Impaired Physical Mobility in Elderly People at Primary Health Care

Objective: to identify the frequency of the nursing diagnosis of Impaired Physical Mobility Impairment and its components in elderly population registered in a Primary Health Care Unit.&#x0D; Method: cross-sectional study conducted from November 2014 to February 2015, performed with 50 seniors at their homes. A questionnaire on patients's identification, their health conditions and their mobility was used.&#x0D; Results: the nursing diagnosis in question was identified in 71.4% of the population. The most present related factors were: lack of knowledge about the advantages of physical activity (66.7%), discomfort (76.9%), pain (82.1%), joint stiffness (76+9%) and sedentary lifestyle (82.1%). The defining characteristics were: limited capacity to perform gross motor skills (89.7%) and fine motor skills (56.4%), and engagement in substitution of movements (74.4%).&#x0D; Conclusion: participants showed difficulties related to physical mobility, evidencing a need for better care from health professionals.&#x0D; Keywords: Nursing Diagnosis; Elderly; Nursing.&#x0D;

Electronic System of an Intelligent Machine: the Case of an Assistive Bed Device

This work presents the electronic design of an intelligent device that includes a monitor system for automatic movements of a robotic hospital bed based on posture classication and identication. This feature was carried out in response to the necessities dened by the application of a diagnostic identication methodology. This method was successfully applied to a public Mexican hospital and the issue identied was the mobility of elderly people and physically challenged individuals. The movement of these patients can be performed routinely or sporadically during their stay in a hospital. For patients who require a particular routine application of this action, the system includes an intelligent monitor system. This intelligent system allows medical experts to program the movements of the robotic bed considering the posture of the patients and the time in bed. This paper shows the hardware and software design of the electronic system and the physicals results.

An intelligent hospital device for health caring assistance of patients with motor disabilities

In this document we present an intelligence device which includes a monitor system for automatic movements of a robotic hospital bed based on posture classification and identification. This functionality has been developed in response to the requirements defined by the application of a diagnostic methodology [10]. Our diagnostic methodology applied on a Mexican public hospital allowed us to understand that the problem of mobility in elderly people and disabled people involves solutions like devices that attend these individuals to achieve movement without many complications. The movement of these patients can be performed routinely or sporadically during their stay in hospital. For patients who require certain routine application of this movement is designed an intelligent monitor system. This intelligent system allows medical experts to program the movements of the robotic bed considering the patient’s posture and time. We will show a methodology for bodies classification in real time. Our work considers the problem of human posture classification with few information (sensors), applying digital process to expand the original data of the sensors and so get more significant data for the classification, however, this is done with low-cost algorithms to ensure the real-time execution.

La mobilità quotidiana delle popolazioni anziane

The essay brings forward the findings of a study on the daily territorial mobility of elderly people in Italy. It put forward a sociological approach to the issue, considering the mobility of elderly people as the subjective and objective inclination to be mobile via any method with the aim of reaching the places where social activities take place. Reference to the inclination is justified by the interest in seeing mobility as a property of subjects rather than a characteristic of places. The mobility of elderly people is analysed paying attention to the relationship between mobility, accessibility and risks of social exclusion. The argument is covered by a large number of authors that share the assumption that the relationship between mobility and accessibility is complex and not unidirectional and that, in a society constructed around the assumption of high mobility, the insufficient or inadequate mobility of weaker subjects may compromise access to goods, services and social networks, compromise participation and as a consequence, cause their social exclusion. Composed of four paragraphs - dynamic, composition, modal choice of daily mobility and social exclusion risks of elderly people - the study has been carried out on the data of the latest survey Istat on the use of time (2008-2009) and Isfort on the daily mobility demand in Italy.