Smart House For People With Dementia
A groundbreaking home that uses the latest smart technology to give
people with dementia and other serious long-term health conditions
greater independence has been showcased for the first time in Bristol.
The technology, which has been developed by the Bath Institute of
Medical Engineering (BIME) in the School for Health at the University
of Bath, has been designed to help people readjust to living on their
own after a stay in hospital, and aims to reduce the risk of users
being readmitted to hospital or going into long term care.
It uses special sensors that can wirelessly 'talk' to devices, such as
the cooker, taps and light switches, in response to the behaviour of
the resident. By monitoring movement within the home, the system is
able to respond to many different situations without having to contact
care staff, often just using simple voice prompts, which could be
recorded by family members.
For example, if the occupant was detected opening the main door at
inappropriate times they would be given a prompt to let them know the
time and encourage them to go back to bed. Similarly, if the occupant
got out of bed at night, the bedroom lights would be gently faded up.
(Other examples can be found in the notes below.)
The system provides a very quick response and gives residents a greater
feeling of control and independence as it doesn't rely on people coming
in from outside to resolve problems, with outside help only called in
for real emergencies.
The technology in the 'enabling smart home' at the Hillside Court 'very
sheltered' housing scheme in St George, Bristol, has been developed
over several years in consultation with people with dementia and their
carers.
It is a joint project between BIME, Bristol City Council's Adult
Community Care service, Bristol PCT's Intermediate Care Service,
Dementia Voice (dementia services development centre for the south
west) and Housing 21 (a national provider of housing with care and
support for older people).
"The really smart thing about the wireless technology we have used in
this flat is that we can take the elements that clients find
particularly useful in the smart home and install them in their own
home," said Professor Roger Orpwood, Director of BIME.
"The whole installation is quite unique because it is designed to
empower the resident rather than relying on outside help to deal with
problems.
"The idea is that residents will stay in the smart home for a short
period of around three months, before returning to their own home."
The flat has been set up as a two year pilot to assess how the
technology helps give people more independence and control, reducing
the risk of users being readmitted to hospital or going into long term
care.
Individual components of the system have been tested by people with
dementia, but the complete installation has previously only been used
at one other Housing 21 property in Lewisham, south London.
David Self, Dementia Services Advisor at Dementia Voice, said: "The
work we have already done in Lewisham has shown that by using
technology we can improve independence and quality of life for people
with dementia and reduce anxieties for relatives, without increasing
the burden on care staff.
"We hope this latest project will take things a step further with the
opportunity to install the successful 'smart' elements of the flat in
people's own homes."
Councillor John Kiely, Executive Member for Housing and Adult Community
Care at Bristol City Council, added: "Smart technology doesn't just
monitor people to make sure they stay safe, it also has the potential
to preserve the dignity and independence of people with dementia who
want to continue living in their own homes."
What can the technology do?
* If the occupant was detected opening the main door at inappropriate
times they would be given a prompt to let them know the time and
encourage them to go back to bed. If they continued to go out, care
staff would be alerted.
* If the occupant got out of bed at night, the bedroom lights would be gently faded up.
* If the occupant got back into bed and left the lights on, the house
would wait a couple of minutes and then fade the lights off. The user
could turn the lights on and off themselves at any point.
* If the occupant moved around the house when it was dark, appropriate
room lights would be turned on to help orientate them and prevent
falls.
* If taps were accidentally left on they would be turned off.
* If the cooker was left on the occupant would be prompted to turn it
off. This would be done twice but if they didn't respond, or if smoke
was detected near the cooker, it would be turned off and care staff
alerted.
* Whilst the cooker hot plates were still hot, even if the cooker had
been turned off, a small warning sign would be illuminated saying
'Cooker Hot'.
* If the occupant was detected moving around a lot at night, they would
be prompted to encourage them to go back to bed. If they continued to
behave restlessly care staff would be alerted.
* Care staff would be alerted through the normal warden call system.
The Bath Institute of Medical Engineering (BIME) is a design and
development charity working in the fields of medicine, health care and
assistive technology for disabled people.
The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities, with an
international reputation for quality research and teaching. In 16
subject areas the University of Bath is rated in the top ten in the
country.
Contact: Andrew McLaughlin
University of Bath
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