Wireless Multimedia Technologies for Assisted Living

Health care systems are struggling to meet the needs of the increasing elderly population, resulting in a significant increase in the demand for aging services. Recent technological developments are expected to assist caregivers in providing both effective and economical care in the home and in long-term care facilities. This paper describes our ongoing efforts toward improving the quality of life of elderly and homebound patients. Our work is currently focused on the development of the Assisted Living Monitoring and Analysis System (ALMAS) project, an intelligent, multimodal tracking and observation solution for Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs). It extends concepts and ideas from our previous work (CodeBlue: a wireless, web-enabled, health monitoring system) by incorporating RFID technology and employing video analysis algorithms for patient tracking and monitoring. ALMAS employs wireless transceivers in the patients ’ rooms and hallways, to monitor their current location, and periodically collects their vital signs by communicating with their personal wearable devices. Any unusual behavior exhibited by the patient triggers an event, enabling the capture of relevant video footage, which is transmitted wirelessly to a health-care professional’s PDA. Based on the information received, an appropriate course of action is taken