RFID Devices to Protect Elderly

Filed in archive Healthcare on March 22, 2004

Via Wired.com comes word of two new products designed to allow senior citizens to remain at home longer, without the need to enter nursing homes.

The products are Intel's Caregiver's Assistant and Georgia Tech's Memory Mirror.

Both products help home caregivers track the movements and activities of the elderly. That way the caregivers can tell if the senior Citizen is failing to take medication or deviating from normal routines, something that may signal bigger problems.

Tiny RFID tags are placed around the senior citizen's home. The Intel system requires the senior to wear a small RFID reader on the back of the hand. The Georgia Tech system has readers placed on items in the home, such as the medicine cabinet.

"Caregivers receiving data via the Internet from RFID readers can monitor seniors' daily activities by recording which tagged items they have picked up, and when. By comparing real-time data with a record of an individual's normal daily routine, caregivers can easily spot any significant changes."

These products sound like they have interesting potential. However, the issue I see with any monitoring system for seniors is whether they will use it. Especially the Intel system, which requires the senior to wear a device.

Even today on the market there are wearable monitoring devices tied to a senior's in-home security system. The senior can use them to call for help, etc.

However, many seniors resist such systems, feeling that they are doing fine and can get by OK without help. Or they simply forget to put the monitoring device on in the morning.

It will be interesting to see if these kinds of products become widely accepted and used by seniors.