Position tracking and mobility assessment system for indoor monitoring of elders

描述(申请人提供)：这个项目的目标是开发和评估一个位置跟踪和行动能力评估系统，使老年人能够在家中或在辅助生活设施中更长时间和更安全地生活。行动能力是决定老年人生活质量的重要功能。行动能力的变化，如行走速度，已被证明与身体和认知功能的变化有关，并可以预测未来认知和身体的衰退。位置跟踪和活动信息可以进一步用于估计临床上相关的日常生活活动，这在评估患者健康方面是有用的。EmbedRF在第二阶段的目标是继续研究和开发一种名为MobileRF的新位置跟踪和移动性评估系统的商业化。这个系统将是低成本的，准确的，不引人注目的，并且易于安装。在第一阶段，设计和制造了初步的原型硬件，使我们能够实现并超过我们的特定目标，方法是：(1)展示MobileRF系统的可行性，使用人体佩戴的标签以亚米精度有效地跟踪一个或多个人在生活空间中的运动；(2)展示以2-3米的精度进行无标签跟踪的可行性，而不需要个人佩戴标签。该系统包括位于整个家庭的多个无线接入点(AP)、个人佩戴的(可选)小型无线标签、收集信息并执行位置跟踪和移动性评估的集线器，以及用于在健康状态发生变化时通知朋友、家人和医疗保健提供者的信息系统。这种新颖的无标签方法使用AP来评估当一个人在家中自由行走时射频(RF)信号的干扰。在被动定位过程中，该系统还将确定行走速度、活动水平，并通过检测是否有多人在场来评估社交互动。为了获得更高的精度，可以佩戴使用飞行时间无线无线电收发机、惯性传感器(三轴加速度计和陀螺仪)和专有贝叶斯跟踪算法的标签，以提供精确的亚米级定位和精细的3D运动和机动性评估。在第二阶段，我们计划在第一阶段取得的成功的基础上，通过在无标签和基于标签的跟踪系统中添加几个新的传感器和功能来显著提高我们的监测精度，完成最终原型，并在20名老年人的家中对该系统进行评估。MobileRF将推向(1)老年独立生活社区，(2)辅助护理设施，(3)在临床试验期间监测流动性的研究人员 药物、手术程序和其他治疗老年人疾病的有效性，以及(4)提供患者跟踪和健康监测并希望获得MobileRF技术许可的公司，以提高其当前产品的准确性和功能性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a position tracking and mobility assessment system that will enable the elderly to live longer and more safely at home or in an assisted living facility. The ability to move is a critical function tat underlies the quality of life for the elderly. Changes in mobility such as speed of walking have been shown to correlate with changes in physical and cognitive function, and can predict future cognitive and physical decline. Positional tracking and mobility information can be further used to estimate clinically relevant activities of daily living, which are useful in assessing patient health. EmbedRF's objective in phase 2 is to continue research and development towards the commercialization of a new position tracking and mobility assessment system called MobileRF. This system will be low-cost, accurate, unobtrusive, and easy-to-install. In phase 1, preliminary prototype hardware was designed and fabricated, which enabled us to meet and exceed our specific aims by (1) demonstrating feasibility of the MobileRF system to effectively track one or more people's movement within a living space at sub-meter accuracy using a body-worn tag, and (2) demonstrating feasibility of tag-free tracking at 2-3 meter accuracy without requiring the individual to wear a tag. The system consists of multiple wireless access points (APs) positioned throughout the home, an (optional) small wireless tag worn by the individual, a hub that aggregates the information and performs the position tracking and mobility assessment, and an information system used to notify friends, family, and health care providers when a change in health status has occurred. The novel tag-free approach uses the APs to evaluate disruptions in radio frequency (RF) signals as a person walks freely throughout their home. During passive localization, the system will also determine walking speed, activity level, and assess social interaction by detecting if multiple people are present. For even higher levels of accuracy, a tag may be worn that uses time-of-flight wireless radio transceivers, inertial sensors (3-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes), and proprietary Bayesian tracking algorithms, to provide accurate sub-meter localization and fine level 3D movement and mobility assessment. In phase 2, we plan to build on the success achieved in phase 1 by adding several new sensors and features to the tag-free and tag-based tracking systems that will significantly improve our monitoring accuracy, completing the final prototype, and evaluating the system in the homes of 20 seniors. MobileRF will be marketed to (1) the senior independent living community, (2) assisted care facilities, (3) researchers who monitor mobility during clinical trials for assessing the effectiveness of drugs, surgical procedures, and other treatments for illness in older people, and (4) companies who provide patient tracking and health monitoring and want to license MobileRF technology to improve the accuracy and functionality of their current product offering.