SBIR Phase I: SenixBand - Remote Independent-Living Monitor and Frailty Status Tracker for Older Adults

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响将彻底改变对家中独立生活的老年人的监控方式。根据美国退休人员协会（AARP）的数据，近90%的老年人（65岁及以上）喜欢独自呆在家里，这就是“原地养老”这个词的由来。拟议的监测系统实时监测老年人的身体活动、跌倒和失去平衡的变化。这些参数可以表明老年人虚弱的变化，如果及早处理，可以延长他们独立生活的时间。该系统将监测血压、心率、心率变异性，以及经常伴随失去平衡或跌倒的常见心脏疾病，这可以触发早期和更明智的干预措施，从而在跌倒造成更严重的伤害之前解决问题。目前的行业解决方案依赖于在检测到跌倒后主动启动援助，通常为时已晚，无法扭转与年龄相关的恶化，并且无法延长独立生活。老年人独立生活更长时间的能力将转化为护理成本的显著节省，也将改善他们的福祉。该项目将为独立生活的老年人开发端到端监测系统，包括：1)开发一种小型可穿戴设备，用于测量心率、脉搏血氧仪、血压和心电图；2)开发活动监测系统和活动分类，可用于跟踪监测老年人的脆弱性。虚弱的变化可以远程观察，允许早期干预，并有可能扭转身体或精神退化的能力。此外，当老年人需要全职照顾者留在家中时，该系统可以帮助决定，这是困难的，通常在一些严重事故或医疗紧急情况之前，例如跌倒导致住院或严重疾病。这种拖延的决定可能会造成严重的危及生命的后果。该技术将在活动监测、无创连续血压监测以跟踪血压变化以及将异常检测集成到ECG波形分析中以在失去平衡或跌倒时提供额外信息方面取得进展。这种实时监测将对可穿戴设备的电池造成负担，并将通过探索基于异常的能量管理来延长电池寿命。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will revolutionize the way older adults who live independently at home are monitored. According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), nearly 90% of older adults (age 65 and above) prefer to stay independently at their homes, coining the term "ageing in place". The proposed monitoring system monitors older adults in real time for changes in physical activity, falls, and loss of balance. These parameters can indicate changes in frailness in older adults which if addressed early can extend their period of independent living. The system will monitor blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and common cardiac conditions that often accompany loss of balance or falls, which can trigger early and more informed intervention that will allow issues to be addressed before a more serious injury occurs due to a fall. Current industry solutions rely on reactively initiating assistance after a fall is detected, which are usually too late to reverse the age-related deterioration and are ineffective at extending independent living. Ability of living independently longer for older adults will translate into significant savings in cost of care and will also improve their wellbeing.The proposed project will develop an end-to-end monitoring systems for older adults living independently at home consisting of: 1) Development of a small wearable device for measurement of Heart Rate, Pulse Oximetry, Blood Pressure, and ECG; 2) Development of activity monitoring system and classification of activities that can be used in tracking frailty of a monitored older adult. Changes in frailty can be observed remotely, allowing for early intervention and potentially the ability to reverse physical or mental degradation. In addition, the system can assist in the decision when the older adults need a full-time caregiver to remain at home, which is difficult and usually preceded by some serious accident or medical emergency, such as a fall resulting in hospitalization or a serious illness. Such delayed decision can have serious life-threatening consequences. The advancements will be made in activity monitoring, non-invasive continuous blood pressure monitoring to track changes in blood pressure, and integration of anomaly detection into ECG waveform analysis to provide additional information when loss of balance or fall occurs. Such real time monitoring will tax the battery of the wearable device and will be addressed by exploring anomaly-based energy management to prolong battery life.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.