How tech is transforming home care for seniors

My father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had just turned 25.

I’ll never forget that phone call. The next few weeks went by in a blur. My father underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Horrific side effects: nausea, dizziness, weight loss.

I watched as my father slowly declined. His gait and balance worsened. It became difficult for him to walk and get around the house.

I remember how hard it was for my father to accept his new reality. He insisted he didn’t need help, that could take care of himself the way he used to. But it became clear he needed help. He eventually agreed to have a live-in home health aide. Then we moved him to a nursing home, where he spent his final years.

It was heartbreaking to watch my father’s decline. The experience gave me an appreciation for the challenges seniors face as they get older.

Over the last year, I’ve been advising companies on new tech-based solutions for seniors. People are living longer. I’ve written previously about the?new science of longevity and anti-aging.

Healthy aging is about more than diet, exercise and lifestyle. It’s also about?creating the right conditions at home to sustain mental and physical health.

Investors are pouring money into new tools aimed at helping seniors manage their health and activities of daily life. They offer the promise that seniors can age gracefully at home and enjoy their golden years with dignity.

“The secret to living longer is hanging onto the handrail.”

—Dr. David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School

Most older adults prefer to continue living in their homes as long as possible.?Yet seniors face a variety of challenges as they age: Personal care, household chores, meal preparation. Managing their medications and healthcare appointments. Finding activities and friends.?Getting around, at home and in town.

A new generation of startups is building solutions that cater to older adults’ specific needs.

In this piece I’ll cover five areas in which technology is transforming home-based senior care:

1. Voice Assistants
2. Virtual Healthcare
3. Home Safety
4. Physical and Mental Fitness
5. Online Communities

Voice Assistants

More seniors are using voice assistants to help manage their daily activities. Smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Apple Home—paired with other devices throughout the house—make it easy to adjust the thermostat, control lighting, telephone a family member or see who’s outside via a front-door camera.

Seniors can use voice technology to get healthcare information or contact emergency services in case of an accident. Studies have found personal voice assistants?can reduce loneliness?among seniors.

While tablets and smartphones can increase opportunities for social interaction, they are challenging for those with poor eyesight or difficulty typing. Personal voice assistant devices are?viewed as more affordable and accessible, with voice growing as the predominant means of device interaction among older adults.

Virtual Healthcare

Telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology allows seniors to connect with their doctors via voice or video. Healthcare providers can collect daily patient health data without the hassle and disruption of an office visit.

For seniors with chronic illness, these tools can help fill the gaps between home health visits. By engaging patients, taking daily biometric readings and symptomology and assessment questions, hospitals and health systems can receive early warning that a patient’s condition may be getting worse.

Some older adults may not remember that they need to take certain medications. Smart medication aids, like the?Medminder?pill dispenser, send a text notification to family or caregivers when a senior hasn’t taken her pills.

Personal medical devices help older adults collect vital signs, capture and transmit that data and analyze it via dashboards for clinical review. These include?wi-fi-enabled pulse oximeters?and blood pressure monitors that provide medically accurate measurements and immediate feedback.

Biotricity’s?Biocare Cardiac app?lets users monitor blood pressure, detect atrial fibrillation, measure blood oxygen level and calculate body composition. The app can make it easier for at-risk individuals to monitor their cardiac health with their doctor and make healthy lifestyles decisions to enhance their quality of life.

Home Safety

Fall detection and prevention is a major focus for seniors living at home. Each year, thousands of older Americans fall at home. Many of them are seriously injured, and some are disabled. The CDC offers a?guide to common fall hazards?found in each room of your home and how to fix them.

There are low-tech solutions: Adding handrails / grab bars to bathrooms. Installing nightlights to make hallways safer to navigate. Being mindful of slippery rugs or other fall hazards.

Tech companies are developing innovative new solutions for fall detection and prevention.

Amazon has a?new partnership with?a company called Vayyar?to offer fall detection response. The system combines wall-mounted sensors to detect falls, with a pendant users can wear around their necks. When a customer uses the pendant or Vayyar detects a fall, Alexa can call urgent response services and family members if necessary.

Apple recently announced that its new Apple Watch will include algorithms for?determining the steadiness of a person’s gait?and potential for a fall in the future. A low score can mean that you could benefit from strength and balance-building exercises.

Physical and Mental Fitness

New companies are offering tools to help seniors stay physically fit and mentally sharp:

• Bold?offers at-home digital fitness programs designed for older adults. The company says its low-intensity workout programs improve balance and strength enough to reduce the incidence of falls by 46%.
• ElliQ?is a personal care companion designed to help older adults live better and healthier at home. It can engage and guide them through a variety of activities, including?conversation, mindfulness and mood improvement exercises, health measurement tracking (e.g. weight, blood pressure), physical exercise and cognitive games.

• Cognishape?is an AI-driven conversational tool that delivers cognitive interventions through daily tasks a user can perform at home.

Tech companies are developing?smart robots?that can be placed in the homes of seniors, giving them reminders during the day and using voice or videoconferencing to report back to family members about their well-being.

Japan has been a pioneer in developing tech-based solutions for eldercare. In nursing homes throughout Japan,?an interactive, therapeutic robot?is helping provide care to elderly residents. The robot’s name is?Paro, and it looks like a baby harp seal, with fur, soulful eyes, and whiskers. The robot has been shown to decrease rates of loneliness in test groups.

Online Communities

Social isolation and loneliness are a big challenge for older adults. Studies show social isolation contributes to increased risk of dementia, heart disease, and stroke.

More seniors are turning to online communities to expand their networks and meet new people. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of video conferencing among older adults: 70% of adults 50-plus reported using video chat in 2020, and 1 in 3 use video chat weekly.

I spoke to?Avi Price, co-founder & COO of?Uniper. The company offers a TV-based solution that allows older adults to stay active and connected in their own homes and communities.

Avi said:

“The pandemic taught?us how important?it is for us to have social interactions, engagement?and connectivity. We've seen a clear correlation?between older adults engaging with the Uniper platform?and reduction in the risk for loneliness, isolation, depression, anxiety and falls. We've also seen that folks on Uniper are 8 times more likely?to adopt telehealth.”?

Other senior-focused online platforms include:

• Papa: Connects seniors to people who can help with errands and provide companionship.?Papa offers “family on demand” to older adults. Papa Pals—the company’s term for its caregivers—provide companionship and transportation to appointments.?
• Element3 Health: Connects seniors with others who share similar hobbies and interests, matching them with local clubs and activity groups where they can connect with other seniors.
• Eldera: Pairs kids with older adults for virtual story times, help with schoolwork, or just a friendly chat.

Challenges to adoption

Senior tech will have to overcome some challenges to reach its potential:

• Cost:?These solutions are often expensive. Will Medicare and private insurance companies cover the cost? AARP has urged Congress to?expand access to Medicaid-covered home care options.
• Training & Education: With any new technology aimed at older adults, it’s important that people understand the technology, it’s easy to use, and there’s adequate training and support.
• Privacy:?Seniors want to protect their personal health data. With any voice assistant, there’s a concern about who’s listening in on these products. Are seniors giving proper consent to being monitored??

Successful offerings will need to assure seniors their privacy is safeguarded. And seniors can take steps to control their privacy, e.g. by turning off the microphone on their smart speaker when they don’t plan to use it.

Getting older happens gradually. Too many seniors don’t get the support they need in time to prevent a fall, or get the right nutrition and exercise to keep them healthy. It’s not until an accident or hospitalization occurs that many seniors realize they need to make lifestyle changes. Smart home technology, remote health monitoring and virtual assistants may be part of the solution.

We should give seniors the tools they need to age gracefully at home. That’s the promise and potential of senior tech.