Autonomous Navigating Telepresence Robot for Alleviating Loneliness and Engaging Nursing Home Residents with and without Dementia

1R43AG073001-01 尤瓦尔？马林斯基 摘要 社会隔离一直是护理养老院老年人的一个新出现的关键挑战，在这些养老院中，居民平均每天与活动主任接触的时间只有12分钟，而新冠肺炎疫情进一步加剧了这种情况。社会隔离对健康有不利影响，48.7%的养老院居民有积极的抑郁症诊断。孤独症与抑郁症状增加、冠心病和中风风险相关，是老年人抑郁、健康恶化和死亡的关键预测因素。更大的孤独感与更低的认知功能有关。在COVID-19之前，50.4%的养老院居民被诊断患有阿尔茨海默病或阿尔茨海默病相关痴呆症。社会化已被证明可以减少慢性疾病，抑郁症，减缓认知能力下降，并提高老年人的生活质量。在美国老年人口迅速增长的同时，养老院的护理人员和工作人员日益短缺，工作人员工作过度。 最近试图通过《护理法》向养老院提供平板电脑来解决孤独问题，这导致了已经人手不足的养老院的额外工作，因为居民无法自己使用平板电脑。安排工作人员设置平板电脑，并促进居民在他们的房间时，家庭想要虚拟见面的沟通，提出了另一个挑战。 拟议的项目旨在将一个负担得起的自主导航远程呈现机器人与成熟的基于网络的调度和通信（Zoom）系统和成熟的老年人活动平台相结合。活力心灵（“VM”）活动平台已在数十家老年生活设施和养老院成功使用超过九年。我们将测试在两家养老院实施综合系统的可行性，以解决社会隔离和参与问题，并消除工作人员处理日程安排的需要，以及与患有阿尔茨海默病和其他痴呆症的居民一起进行虚拟访问的需要。该系统将允许家庭通过养老院的网站安排虚拟访问，机器人将在预定时间自主导航到居民的房间。居民将在机器人屏幕上看到家庭成员，并且机器人将移动到居民和家庭成员将进行社交并参与VM活动的房间中。在虚拟访问结束时，机器人将自动导航到消毒站，进行消毒并为其电池充电。可行性测试将持续三个月，我们将收集有关用户对会议，技术和居民参与度的满意度的数据。我们将收集有关该系统在缓解养老院老年居民的孤独感和改善情绪方面成功的初步数据，为更大更长的第二阶段SBIR做准备。 如果成功，这项技术可以成为解决长期护理和老年生活设施以及与护理人员生活在一起的老年人家中的孤独和社会隔离问题的一种负担得起的解决方案，同时节省护理人员的时间并给他们一些喘息的机会。

1R43AG073001-01 Malinksy, Yuval ABSTRACT Social isolation has been an emerging critical challenge in the care of older adults in nursing homes where residents engage for an average of just 12 minutes per day with an activity director, a situation further exacerbated by Covid-19. Social isolation has detrimental effects on health as evidenced by the fact that 48.7% of nursing home residents have an active depression diagnosis. Loneliness is associated with increased depressive symptoms, risk for coronary heart disease and stroke, and is a key predictor of depression, health deterioration, and death in older adults. Greater loneliness is associated with lower cognitive function. Prior to COVID-19, 50.4% of nursing home residents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. Socialization has been shown to reduce chronic disease, depression, slow down cognitive decline, and to improve quality of life in older adults. At the same time that the older population is growing rapidly in the U.S., there is a growing shortage in caregivers and staff in nursing homes and the staff are overworked. Recent attempts to address the loneliness problem by providing tablets to nursing homes through the Care Act have caused the already understaffed nursing homes’ extra work since residents cannot figure out how to use the tablets on their own. Scheduling staff for setting up the tablets and facilitating communication for the residents at their rooms when families want to virtually meet, present another challenge. The proposed project aims to integrate an affordable autonomous navigating telepresence robot with proven web-based scheduling and communications (Zoom) systems and a proven activities platform for seniors. The Vigorous Mind (“VM”) activities platform has been used successfully in dozens of senior living facilities and nursing homes for more than nine years. We will test the feasibility of implementing the integrated system at two nursing homes to address both social isolation and engagement as well as eliminating the need for staff to handle scheduling and to be present with residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias or without in performing the virtual visits. The system will allow families to schedule virtual visits through the nursing homes’ website and the robot will autonomously navigate its way to the resident’s room at the scheduled time. The family member will be seen by the resident on the robot screen and the robot will move into the room where the resident and the family member will socialize and engage in VM activities. At the end of the virtual visit the robot will autonomously navigate its way to the disinfection station, be disinfected and charge its battery. The feasibility test will last three months and we shall collect data about user satisfaction with the sessions, with the technology and resident engagement. We will collect preliminary data on the success of the system in alleviating loneliness and improving mood among older adult residents of a nursing home in preparation for a larger and longer PHASE II SBIR. If successful, this technology could be an affordable solution for addressing loneliness and social isolation in long-term care and senior living facilities and in homes of older adults who live with caregivers, and at the same time save caregivers time and give them some respite.