Care Better for the Old with AI

Globally, human population is getting older. More peace compared to past centuries, advancements in medicine and increased awareness of habits contributing to better health have helped increase life expectancy. In 2017, the UN estimated the worldwide population of people aged above 60 at around a billion, or 13 percent of the global population. It also stated that the population in that demographic will rise close to 2.1 billion by 2050, i.e., 21 percent of the global population. While increasing lifespans are correctly viewed as an indicator of progress and success for scientific fields, they also necessitate the need to create facilities that can care for the elderly. The social contract for years has mandated that the young, working population pay taxes that then fund the care for elderly citizens.

The rapid skew in the age mix means that we need to make urgent interventions for ensuring that we continue to adequately fund the care of our elderly. However, spiraling costs of healthcare – doctor visits, hospital care, medicines, caregivers and allied ecosystem – is challenging. Artificial Intelligence (AI) could hold the key to address the challenge of caring for a larger elderly population. AI is making great strides in healthcare in totality and can be a great enablement force for assisted living and elderly care. Here are a few key AI interventions that can have an immense impact on elderly care and assisted-living facilities.

Health monitoring

Health monitoring is seeing some of the most breakthrough AI applications at present. With advances in the sophistication of wearable devices and machine learning algorithms, we are seeing a plethora of use cases for actively monitoring health of individuals using AI. For instance, commonly available devices from companies like Fitbit, Garmin, Apple regularly monitor heart rate, sleep and activity levels. This data can be utilized by doctors to understand lifestyle, fitness levels and needs of elderly patients. We are also seeing a huge increase in the production of even more topical wearables that go beyond basic monitoring. Further, specific data is being captured through wearables that can mitigate and treat diabetic foot ulcers, detect falls and monitor gait. All such interventions would be critical to improve the recovery timeline for elderly patients with disease and track their response to therapy.

Companion robots

Enterprises are making rapid strides in the development of AI-powered robots that act as both assistants and companions to elderly folks. Israeli startup – Intuition Robotics – is doing exciting work in this space. The company has launched ELLI.Q – an ‘ageing companion’ – that uses machine learning and computer vision to remind their human companion to take their medicines, revisit appointments, while also monitoring their environment and overall wellness. Toy company Hasbro has also gotten onto the act of companion robots with its project ARIES, i.e., Affordable Robotic Intelligence for Elderly Support. Their robot cat also leverages machine learning and computer vision to enhance the safety of its elderly friends and keep them updated on their tasks and appointments. Hasbro is working on this project with scientists at Brown University and in November 2017 received a USD 1 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Sensorized living

Beyond robots and chat agents, we are also seeing a proliferation of applications that utilize the internet of things technology in concert with AI. Numerous facilities and homes for the elderly now boast of highly sensorized environments, which track and monitor their movement – speed, gait, if there are any obstructions or objects that could potentially hurt them. One example is the work being done by researchers at the University of Missouri, who are using wall-mounted depth sensors to detect changes in the walking patterns or increased shakiness among elderly citizens. By using this data, the sensors can predict the possibility of a fall, and determine the potential severity of the injury. These sensors also look out for other potential hazardous scenarios — doors left mistakenly open, ovens left on mode.

Telemedicine via virtual care

While telemedicine has been around for a few years, it is now being augmented by AI. Take for example the work done by Babylon Health, which has released an app for AI-led health diagnostics. The app collects symptoms of illnesses displayed by patients and then compares it to millions of data points within its system to arrive at a preliminary diagnosis. The app also offers treatment advice and provides prescriptions. For patients seeking to speak to a GP, the average time in London is being cut down from up to 2 weeks for consultation to just over 2 hours for a virtually present GP. The main value of AI-enabled telemedicine is the reduction of unnecessary hospital visits. With AI acting effectively as a pre-screen, senior citizens would be able to achieve first-level diagnosis of their discomfort and accurately assess if there is even a need to seek an in-person consultation. Further, AI also ensures doctors are aware of the symptoms faced by their patients prior to their visits, thereby dramatically cutting down the time spent in uncovering illnesses – and allowing them to bring more of a human touch to the process.

Staff continuity

Assisted living facilities often see very high levels of staff turnover. This combined with the increasing number of elderly citizens could reach crisis levels if not addressed immediately. Here too, AI is making a mark. For example, the work done at Benchmark Living Services. By adding AI into the workflow of nurses and caregivers, they can reduce the amount of time they spend on tedious paperwork and instead focus on providing high quality care. AI would be hugely impactful at such facilities – helping capture notes, sending messages to their families as well as ensuring that new caregivers always have access to the most current patient condition and health indicators. With AI, we can give the elderly better quality of care, information and companionship, which will be instrumental in helping them live a life of dignity in their sunset years. – Telangana Today