Technological Solutions for Older People with Alzheimer’s Disease: Review

Title:Technological Solutions for Older People with Alzheimer’s Disease: Review

Volume: 15 Issue: 10

Author(s): Petra Maresova*, Signe Tomsone, Petre Lameski, Joana Madureira, Ana Mendes, Eftim Zdravevski, Ivan Chorbev, Vladimir Trajkovik, Moriah Ellen and Kasper Rodile

Affiliation:

• University of Hradec Kralove,Czech Republic

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, senior citizens, technology, solution, wearable sensors, chronic diseases.

Abstract: In the nineties, numerous studies began to highlight the problem of the increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in developed countries, especially in the context of demographic progress. At the same time, the 21st century is typical of the development of advanced technologies that penetrate all areas of human life. Digital devices, sensors, and intelligent applications are tools that can help seniors and allow better communication and control of their caregivers. The aim of the paper is to provide an up-to-date summary of the use of technological solutions for improving health and safety for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Firstly, the problems and needs of senior citizens with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their caregivers are specified. Secondly, a scoping review is performed regarding the technological solutions suggested to assist this specific group of patients. Works obtained from the following libraries are used in this scoping review: Web of Science, PubMed, Springer, ACM and IEEE Xplore. Four independent reviewers screened the identified records and selected relevant articles which were published in the period from 2007 to 2018. A total of 6,705 publications were selected. In all, 128 full papers were screened. Results obtained from the relevant studies were furthermore divided into the following categories according to the type and use of technologies: devices, processing, and activity recognition. The leading technological solution in the category of devices are wearables and ambient noninvasive sensors. The introduction and utilization of these technologies, however, bring about challenges in acceptability, durability, ease of use, communication, and power requirements. Furthermore, it needs to be pointed out that these technological solutions should be based on open standards.

Cite this article as:

Maresova Petra*, Tomsone Signe, Lameski Petre , Madureira Joana , Mendes Ana , Zdravevski Eftim , Chorbev Ivan , Trajkovik Vladimir , Ellen Moriah and Rodile Kasper , Technological Solutions for Older People with Alzheimer’s Disease: Review, Current Alzheimer Research 2018; 15 (10) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1567205015666180427124547