A Smart Robotic Platform for Monitoring Food Assumption in Elderly Patients

Malnutrition is a prevalent comorbidity in hospitalized elderly patients, often caused by dysphagia and potentially increasing the risk of prolonged hospitalization and mortality. Such patients must follow a specific diet and often carry out speech exercises with the constant presence of a clinical supervisor. However, there are several difficulties in monitoring patients and also obtaining complete information on the intake of food. Several robotic solutions have been presented in the literature to support the patient and motivate him/her during food assumption, but no technological solutions have been proposed for elderly patients at risk of undernutrition. This paper proposes an approach for using a service robot for the monitoring of the required energy intake to avoid weight and muscle mass loss and identifing any event of cough or oxygen desaturation in hospitalized geriatric patients