Care Assistant for Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia During Out of the Home Activities

摘要 预期寿命的增长和人口趋势推动了美国人口的快速增长。 老年人口。随着美国老年人数量的增长，与衰老相关的疾病的流行也在增加。 这些疾病包括阿尔茨海默病（AD）和其他相关痴呆（ADRD）。估计540万 美国人在2012年患有AD，预计到2030年这一数字将翻一番。据估计，其中大部分 病人（70%）住在家里，他们接受75%的照顾，从非正式的照顾者谁是无偿的 例如家庭成员、朋友和邻居。疾病的自然发展及其 负担的行为会给经常与父母有密切关系的照顾者带来巨大的压力。 病人在痴呆症患者的照顾者中，游荡行为是最容易引起压力的行为之一 症状徘徊是一种常见的症状，包括各种步行行为，可导致 患者迷路或迷失方向，导致患者严重受伤或死亡的风险和压力 并且降低了照顾者的独立性。家庭照顾者通常不能让病人独自在家， 相反，必须将他们带到大而复杂的室内环境中， 一个AD病人的游荡Koronis生物医学技术公司将开发一种跟踪解决方案， 在静止和移动的场景中，提醒护理者注意流浪行为， 让他们能迅速找到自己的爱人它将包括一个以地理围栏为特色的监测系统 以及用于室内和室外使用的无线系绳模式。将评估拟议系统的功效 通过试点临床研究以及工程评估，由家庭护理人员提供。

Abstract Increases in life expectancy together with demographic trends have fueled a rapid increase in America’s elderly population. As the number of older Americans has grown, so has the prevalence of aging-associated diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other related dementias (ADRD). An estimated 5.4 Million Americans had AD in 2012, and that number is expected to double by 2030. It is estimated that most of these patients (70%) live at home where they receive 75% of their care from informal caregivers who are unpaid individuals such as family members, friends, and neighbors. The natural progression of the disease and its burdensome behaviors cause significant stress for caregivers who frequently have close relationships to the patient. Among caregivers of dementia patients, wandering behavior is one of the most stress-provoking symptoms. Wandering is a common symptom that encompasses various walking behaviors that can result in the patient becoming lost or disoriented leading to the risk of serious injury or death for the patient and stress and reduced independence for the caregiver. Family caregivers often cannot leave patients home alone, and instead must bring them on errands to large and complex indoor environments which present additional risk for an AD patient to wander. Koronis Biomedical Technologies will develop a tracking solution that will give peace of mind to caregivers in both stationary and mobile scenarios, alerting the caregiver to wandering behavior and allowing them to quickly locate their loved one. It will consist of a monitoring system that features geo-fencing and wireless tether modes for both indoor and outdoor use. Efficacy of the proposed system will be assessed by family caregivers through a pilot clinical study, as well as through engineering evaluations.