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

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将彻底改变独立生活在家中的老年人的监测方式。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）更喜欢独自留在家中，创造了“就地养老”一词。所提出的监测系统以真实的时间监测老年人的身体活动、福尔斯和平衡丧失的变化。这些参数可以指示老年人的脆弱性的变化，如果及早解决，可以延长他们独立生活的时间。该系统将监测血压、心率、心率变异性以及通常伴随失去平衡或福尔斯跌倒的常见心脏病，这可以触发早期和更明智的干预，从而在跌倒导致更严重的损伤之前解决问题。目前的行业解决方案依赖于在检测到跌倒后被动地启动辅助，这通常为时已晚，无法扭转与年龄相关的恶化，并且在延长独立生活方面无效。老年人独立生活的能力将转化为护理成本的显着节省，也将改善他们的福祉。拟议的项目将开发一个端到端的监测系统，为老年人独立生活在家里，包括：1）开发一个小型的可穿戴设备，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，其可用于跟踪被监测的老年人的虚弱。可以远程观察虚弱程度的变化，从而可以进行早期干预，并有可能逆转身体或精神退化。此外，该系统可以帮助老年人决定何时需要全职护理人员留在家中，这是困难的，并且通常在发生严重事故或医疗紧急情况之前，例如导致住院或严重疾病的跌倒。这种延迟的决定可能会造成严重的危及生命的后果。 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。这种真实的实时监控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源管理来延长电池寿命来解决。该奖项反映了NSF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.