Project Coordinators: Dr. Eng. Ionuț PETRE – Scientific Researcher III, Virginia SĂNDULESCU

General objectives of the project

• Achieving of an integrated multimodal sensor that allows the monitoring of people at home. The sensor will use communication technologies and will be integrated into custom applications developed within the project. The expected advantages are the optimization of the placement of sensors in the home as well as the fact that it does not force the monitored person to wear sensors on the body.
• Protocols for multimodal analysis of monitoring data from different sensor sources (environmental and medical), which will allow the detection of situations preceding crisis phases: it is desired to identify falls and behavioral changes preceding the appearance of an illness/emergency;
• Tele-assistance platform that integrates the above components providing telemonitoring and tele-assistance functionalities.

Project description

Adapting to an aging society requires greater independence and social inclusion. It is necessary to create favorable environments for the elderly, integrate accessibility and develop products and services adapted to the needs of this population category.

The personalized approach to the problem of preventive actions within tele-assistance services for people, especially the elderly living alone at home, supported by the latest technologies in the ICT field, has an important role in solving the challenges of helping the elderly and/or with disabilities, chronic conditions to live independently, to remain active, involved as much as possible in social life and to improve their quality of life, avoiding institutionalization.

For these people, falls are unwanted events that can negatively impact health.

The project proposed the design and implementation of intelligent solutions that can be integrated into tele-assistance / telemonitoring solutions at home, based on the new ICT technologies, for determining risk factors at home and reducing the associated effects.

The project had the following realization phases:

Phase 1: Preliminary analysis of telemonitoring/tele-assistance solutions for the elderly at home

Phase 2: Fall detection protocol design

Phase 3: Design protocol for detecting behavioral changes associated with health degradation

Phase 4: Implementation of sensor network for detecting falls in the home

Phase 5: Implementing a complex sensor to detect behavioral risks

Phase 6: Design of the telemonitoring platform and analysis of standardization and interoperability requirements

Phase 7: Implementation of complex platform for telemonitoring of risk factors at home

Phase 8: Testing/analysis/improvement and validation of proposed solutions

Results

1. The project contributed to the development of new approaches for the creation of the quality of life through the use of communication systems, in intelligent environments and in the development of the field Infrastructures and applications for the provision of services in intelligent environments, for the objectives:
   • Integrated support services for applications in SmartCity, SmartHome smart environments;
   • Models for complex platforms for the development of teleassistance and telemonitoring services to increase the quality of life, a field provided for in the Research - Development Strategy of INSCC 2019-2022.

The project also contributed to supporting the objective of the National Strategy regarding the Digital Agenda for Romania - 2020: ICT in education, culture and health, as well as supporting the objective: Smart specialization priorities, which involve the definition and consolidation of areas of high competence where there are actual or potential comparative advantages and which can contribute significantly to GDP.

2. Type of result: studies, research reports with the following socio-economic effects:

• the development of the home tele-assistance market in Romania

The design of high-performance solutions both from the point of view of the functionalities offered and from the point of view of security and interoperability will lead to the diversification of the offer of intelligent home care solutions and to the increase of their use. By creating standards, recommendations and guides in the field, both the development of tele-assistance systems and the provision of services in the field are encouraged;

• increasing patients' access to telecare services at home by developing the offer of interoperable solutions, from different providers

The development of the home tele-assistance market will lead to an increase in the offer of technical solutions and tele-assistance services, thus increasing competition in the field. Thus, an increase in the population's access to these solutions and services can be expected. Also, the creation of interoperable solutions will allow the integration of solutions provided by different economic agents, creating more possibilities for the implementation of solutions;

• the decrease in the financial burden caused by the aging of the population

In the short and medium term, by increasing the population's access to tele-assistance services at home, the costs of medical care both at home and in specialized centers are reduced, and the number of consultations is reduced.

In the long term, total health costs are reduced by improving the general health of the population, as home tele-assistance systems allow the application of disease prevention strategies through the early detection of symptoms for various conditions.

3. Papers: ISI articles and articles in other databases.