Families in Ohio and Pennsylvania who use Healthsense's state-of-the-art eNeighbor® remote monitoring to help care for elderly relatives with Alzheimer's disease or dementia say the technology has enabled them to keep their loved ones safe at home for longer and delay placing them permanently in secured memory care units. They also credit the Healthsense technology with improving their own quality of life by helping relieve the stress and strain of tending to seniors with Alzheimer's or dementia.

"Without the eNeighbor system, I honestly don't think my mother would still be able to live at home with us," said Mary White, who has used the Healthsense technology for about a year in her Toledo, Ohio residence to help care for her 88-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's. "She does so much better here with me than in a nursing home. She eats better. She exercises more. She has more company here. It also gives me peace of mind. Before, I couldn't even go out to the mailbox to get the mail without worrying that she might open a door and wander off."

An estimated 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent cause of dementia and the seventh leading cause of death, according to the Alzheimer's Association. As the baby boomer population ages, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer's is expected to reach 7.7 million in 2030 and between 11 million and 16 million by 2050. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that as many as 10 million people, including family members, currently provide unpaid care for individuals with Alzheimer's.

Developed with grants from the National Institutes of Aging (NIA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the eNeighbor system is built around a set of battery-operated Wi-Fi sensors placed in private homes or senior living residences to monitor residents' daily living activities and wellness. These sensors include pressure sensors in beds to detect when a resident gets in or out of bed; motion detectors on walls to detect movement or inactivity; toilet sensors to monitor toilet usage; contact sensors on kitchen cupboards and refrigerator doors to monitor whether the resident is eating regularly; and door sensors that alert when the resident tries to leave the residence or enter potentially hazardous areas, such as stairways. eNeighbor's "smart" operating system uses algorithms to analyze the sensor data and determine whether the resident requires assistance. The system automatically issues assistive prompts or alerts via any phone when the data indicate help is needed. Information and reports can also be accessed from a secure web portal.

White has several sensors installed in the upstairs portion of her home where her mother lives. A motion sensor by the stairs alerts her via a call to her cordless home phone if her mother attempts to come downstairs at any time between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. And if her mother gets up at night to go to the bathroom, the system (including a bed sensor and motion sensors) alerts White if she has not returned to her bed within 10 minutes. Downstairs, the side, front and back doors are all installed with sensors that alert if they're opened between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. A pressure sensor on her mother's chair also notifies White whenever her mother gets out of the chair during daylight hours.

"I'm able to get a lot more sleep now," said White. "Before I had the Healthsense technology installed, I'd always have to sleep with one ear open. It was the same in the daytime. I had to make sure my house was locked at all times. I couldn't even go out into the yard. I was running back and forth all the time, exhausting myself, worrying that she'd get out into the street. Now, it's a lot safer for her and it's such a relief to me. I feel good that I'm able to take care of her here in my own home."

Eleanor Watts, also a Toledo, Ohio resident, has used the eNeighbor technology in her home for more than a year to help care for her 66-year-old husband, who has Alzheimer's. The sensor in his bed alerts her via the home phone whenever he gets up. "It has freed me up so much, especially in summer," she said. "I can take my phone now and go and do some gardening in the back yard. Before, I was trapped in the living room. I had to be close enough to hear him, because I never knew when he would get up. The technology has really opened up my world. I feel it will definitely help keep him at home with me for longer. It's a great boon for the caregiver."

Adrienne Briggs, a Philadelphia resident whose 70-year-old mother came to live with her two years ago after she was diagnosed with dementia, began using the eNeighbor system 20 months ago. In addition to bed, motion and door sensors, her system is also set up to alert her if her mother does not return to bed at night within 10 minutes after getting up to use the bathroom. "The eNeighbor technology has definitely helped keep my mom out of a nursing home, and it has given me peace of mind, knowing that she is being monitored at night when I'm asleep," said Briggs. "Before, I was never really able to go into a deep sleep, because I would always be listening out for her."

"More and more families are telling us that the eNeighbor system has helped prolong the time that their loved ones with Alzheimer's or dementia are able to live at home with them," said Brian Bischoff, President and CEO of Healthsense. "This is a significant quality-of-life benefit not only for the caregivers but also for the patients, because once they are admitted to memory care, they permanently give up whatever remaining level of independence they may still enjoy. There are also important financial implications. The longer a patient's passage to higher acuity care can be postponed, the less costly it is for families, patients, providers and payors."

White and Watts are participants in a NIA-funded two-year research project titled "Impact of Monitoring Technology on Family Caregivers" currently underway at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The project is directed by Jennifer M. Kinney, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and research fellow of the Scripps Gerontology Center (SGC) and Cary S. Kart, Ph.D., senior researcher with the SGC. Briggs's mother receives her eNeighbor system through NewCourtland, a leading non-profit provider of community services, housing and nursing homes in Philadelphia. Mary White and Eleanor Watts are pseudonyms, used to protect the privacy of the research study participants.

Source
Healthsense