Citation

Lin CC, Chen CC, Lin PS, Lee RG, Huang JS, Tsai TH, Chang YC. J. Med. Biol. Eng. 2016; 36: 168-177.

Affiliation

Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Healthy Aging Research Center, College of Engineering, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Road, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, 333 Taiwan, ROC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Biomedical Engineering Society of ROC)

DOI

10.1007/s40846-016-0127-y

PMID

27231464

PMCID

PMC4853458

Abstract

This study develops a home-based frailty detection device that uses embedded systems and wireless sensing technology. This system helps monitor the impact of aging among the elderly through wireless automatic detection. The detection system consists of four devices. The first device, called eScale, simulates the traditional falling ruler test to measure reaction time. Another device, called eChair, measures the pressure exerted by a test subject through a pressure sensor. It is used to test three symptoms of frailty, namely slowness of movement, physical weakness, and body weight. The third device, called ePad, consists of a soft membrane switch placed on the ground to detect footsteps and is used to test balance. The fourth device, called eReach, measures displacement through ultrasound sensors. It is used to carry out the functional reach test. The sampling rate of each device is the main factor that determines system performance. When the test distance was set to 5 m for Home-Gateway, a 1-Hz sampling rate showed the best performance (98 %). Up to eight devices can be connected simultaneously to the gateway. The proposed system was compared with conventional approaches through testing with test subjects (n = 8). The results of the five tests were as follows: standing forward bend (r = 0.929), balance (r = 0.996), slowness of movement (r = 0.976), and physical weakness (r = 0.991), with p < 0.01. In the reaction time test, r = 0.871, with p < 0.1. All results suggest high correlations. Tests of aging symptoms were performed on 309 people aged over 65 years. Among males, degradation of over 20 % was found in the areas of physical weakness, slowness of movement, and functional reach. Among females, a degradation of 75 % was found in the balance test.

Language: en