Revolutionizing remote healthcare for seniors through AI-enabled smart leg band that can catch early signs of vulnerability.
An AI-enabled compression sleeve can track walking steps and movements, recognizing the loss of resilience in older people (aged 65 and above).
The emerging high-tech mesh sleeve is a leg wrap that can be worn around the lower thigh just above the knee. It essentially tracks leg speed and gait balance, revealing patterns that are most often invisible during traditional clinical assessments. (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
AI-powered wearable boosts preventative care for elderly
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What happens when #AI meets #elderly_care? Bodily weakness affects roughly 15% of U.S. seniors currently. A novel e-textile leg wrap could detect #frailty, stopping falls and injuries. A highly economical next-gen tech for safer seniors. #geriatrics #AIwearable #frailty_prevention #gait_analysis
This economical device doesn’t require high-speed internet, making it optimal for under-resourced communities. The geriatric innovation was made by engineers from University of Arizona, published in the journal Nature Communications.
The elastic wrap is convenient for use with wireless charging and transfers results via Bluetooth to a smart phone. This frailty detection wearable for elderly, prevents falls and injuries before they happen.
Engineering a Safer Future for Seniors Through an AI Mesh Sleeve
“The current model of care is lagging behind,” said Philipp Gutruf, associate department head of biomedical engineering and senior author on the study. “Right now, we often wait for a fall or hospitalization before we assess a patient for frailty. We wanted to shift the paradigm from reactive to preventative.”
“This device allows clinicians to intervene early, potentially preventing costly and dangerous outcomes,” said Gutruf.
The associate professor has spent the last seven years at the U of A developing technology that monitors biomarkers. His lab published a study in May on an adhesive-free wearable that measures water vapor and skin gases to track signs of stress.
Adapting and expanding on that technology, the approximately two-inch-wide, 3D-printed sleeve lined with tiny sensors is “designed to be invisible,” said Gutruf.
Transforming Rural Bone and Joint Care with Edge AI Diagnostics
The sleeve simultaneously records and analyzes motion of the wearer and produces an AI analysis. With the device sending just the results, not the actual hundreds of hours of recorded data, transmission is reduced by 99% and the need for high-speed internet is eliminated.
Results are transferred via Bluetooth to a smart device. And long-range wireless charging capabilities free the user from plugging in the device or swapping out a battery.
“Continuous, high-fidelity monitoring creates massive datasets that would normally drain a battery in hours and require a heavy internet connection to upload. We solved this with Edge AI,” said Kevin Kasper, lead study author and biomedical engineering doctoral candidate.
The AI-enabled technology is “an ideal solution for remote patient monitoring in rural or under-resourced communities,” he added.
“We are effectively putting a lab on the patient, no matter where they live.”
Reference:
- AI-powered wearable boosts preventative care for elderly – (https://news.arizona.edu/news/ai-powered-wearable-boosts-preventative-care-elderly)
Source-Eurekalert