Co-design and evaluation of sensor-instrumented ‘smart socks’ (MPATIX) to improve management of distress and agitation for people with dementia

在英国43万名养老院居民中，超过70%的人患有痴呆症或类似的记忆问题（阿尔茨海默氏症协会/ONS）。到2035年，英国痴呆症患者人数将翻一番，达到160万。痴呆症护理既具有挑战性又昂贵，在英国花费了350亿英镑。随着沟通变得越来越困难，人们在陷入困境时很难寻求帮助。这导致具有挑战性的行为症状（攻击、焦虑），往往反映出可解决的护理问题，如不适/缺乏疼痛管理。目前，大约一半的痴呆症患者会出现与无法控制的痛苦相关的行为症状。至关重要的是，护理人员面临着成功满足痴呆症患者需求的挑战，这些患者无法识别或沟通自己陷入困境的原因。对技术解决方案的需求尚未得到满足，这些解决方案支持护理人员迅速响应个人的独特需求和情境触发因素。Milbotix开发了MPATIX智能袜子，其中包含跟踪脉搏，汗水，温度和运动的传感器，以准确了解穿着者的健康状况。利用我们新颖的机器学习算法和移动应用程序，我们可以为痴呆症患者或他们的护理人员提供独特的焦虑/痛苦信息。MPATIX袜子外观和感觉都和普通袜子一样，可以机洗，不需要充电。MPATIX与养老院数据系统集成，使系统能够增强现有的工作流程，更容易采用。Milbotix由英国领先的痴呆症慈善机构阿尔茨海默氏症协会（Alzheimer's Society）资助，开发了一种经过验证的TRL - 6原型，该原型在检测焦虑方面具有可靠性（准确率为74%-98%）。该项目将开发一个可供试验的版本，使必要的大规模随机对照试验能够充分量化和展示部署的护理提供者和个人利益。有了MPATIX，我们处于理想的位置，可以应对快速增长的市场机会和人口老龄化带来的新社会挑战。

More than 70% of the 430,000 care home residents in the UK have dementia or similar memory problems (Alzheimer's Society/ONS). By 2035 the UK dementia population will double to 1.6m.Dementia care is challenging and expensive, costing £35b in the UK. As communication becomes more difficult, people can struggle to request help when they are in distress. This leads to challenging behavioural symptoms (aggression, anxiety) often reflecting resolvable care issues such as discomfort/lack of pain management. Currently, around half of people with dementia experience behavioural symptoms linked to unmanaged distress.Critically, carers face challenges successfully meeting the needs of people with dementia who cannot identify or communicate why/that they are in distress. There is an unmet need for technological solutions which support carers to promptly respond to individuals' unique needs and situational triggers.Milbotix have developed MPATIX Smart Socks, which incorporate sensors that track pulse, sweat, temperature and motion to give accurate insights on the wearer's wellbeing. Utilising our novel machine learning algorithm and mobile application, we can provide unique anxiety/distress information, without disruption for people with dementia or their carers. Looking and feeling like normal socks, the MPATIX socks are machine washable and don't require charging. MPATIX integrates with care home data systems allowing the system to augment existing workflows for easier adoption.Funded by Alzheimer's Society, the UK's leading dementia charity, Milbotix has developed a validated TRL 6 prototype, which has demonstrated reliability at detecting anxiety (74%-98% accurate). This project will develop a trial-ready version, enabling the necessary large-scale RCT which fully quantifies and demonstrates the care provider and individual benefits of deployment.With MPATIX, we are ideally positioned to address a rapidly growing market opportunity and emerging social challenge in an ageing population.