主要研究 今天

得到了国家卫生研究院的一笔新拨款, 主要研究 researchers will harness cutting edge technology to help aging adults with dementia remain in their homes.

五年资助总额为2美元.8 million from the National Institutes of 健康’s (NIH) National Institute on Aging supports an interdisciplinary effort to develop and test social assistive robots to aid in the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia in the comfort of their own homes.

“The ultimate goal of this research is to help support caregivers while keeping their family member healthy and active at home.”

“照顾老年人, 尤其是那些患有进行性阿尔茨海默氏症和痴呆症的人, can place a high burden on family caregivers who cannot be with their care recipients 24/7,” Sajay Arthanat职业治疗学教授 健康与人类服务学院 也是该项目的联合首席研究员. “The ultimate goal of this research is to help support those caregivers while keeping their family member healthy and active at home.”

The interdisciplinary team of researchers, co-led by assistant professor of computer science in the 工程与物理科学学院, Momotaz女王, created a prototype robot that has been tested in a controlled lab setting. 有了新的补助金, the research team will build on their success by creating a technological framework to develop social assistive robots with more capabilities and test them in home settings.

This would include compatibility with Internet of Things commercial devices already found in homes, 比如运动控制摄像机和传感器, 确保老年人的安全并符合他们的医疗保健要求. 例如, 如果病人没有按时服药, a sensor strategically placed by their pill bottle would track the lack of movement and would alert the assistive robot. 然后，机器人会向病人发出声音提醒. If, 几次尝试后, 病人对他们的药没有反应, the robot would alert a remote human caregiver who would be able to intervene.

 “有了这笔拨款, we will be able to further develop the robot’s technological framework from not only using smart home devices but also artificial intelligence and wearables, 比如智能手表, 来帮助测量病人的活动水平, 健康管理和与护理人员的联系,Begum说。. 

 “Being able to remotely monitor a person’s physical activity and other vital signs can help family, friends and clinicians more effectively manage the disease and may be used to identify a decline in function and take action before an adverse medical event occurs,” Dain LaRoche美国大学运动学教授 健康与人类服务学院 也是团队的一名合作调查员.

 While this research is focused on robots to aid with Alzheimer’s and dementia care, researchers hope it may have other future applications and benefit seniors by letting them age safely in their homes.

该项目的其他主要研究合作者是John Wilcox, clinical associate 职业治疗教授; DongPeng Xu, assistant professor of computer science; Jennifer Rabalais, co-director of the Center for Aging and 社区 Living; and Esmaeil Bahalkeh, 卫生管理和政策助理教授.

该项目于2019年获得种子资金 联合国大学的卓越合作研究计划.