Supporting independence with technology

By Lucy Carruthers

As a past student at The University of Bath, I get sent their regular e-newsletter. Like many of these things I rarely find the time to actually read them but this time I’m glad I did. I came across a great project that researchers there have been working on for people with dementia. The ‘smart’ sensing systems aim to help the UK’s 700,000 dementia sufferers to live independently at home by closely monitoring people’s movements and actions around the home.

As well as providing voice-prompts (e.g. reminders to turn off a tap or cooker), they can also directly switch lights or appliances on and off in order to eliminate potential dangers. The researcher’s have been following the same design processes we do at Foviance to research, develop, test and improve it. It’s currently being trialled in two care homes and all end users are being considered – not just those with dementia but those who will need to set up the device such as local authority carers and healthcare staff. While I am keen supporter of quality care homes many people wish to stay in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes as long as possible, so it’s great to see technology being used to increase the viability of this option.