The US faces a shortage of caregivers, at the very moment when the US population is aging. Among those who will burden the healthcare system are older boomers and senior citizens who, generally, would prefer to age at home than be institutionalized. And, in any event, there just aren't enough nursing homes and assisted living facilities to accommodate all the elderly Americans of the future. Enter the brave new world of technology.
Here's an introduction into how robotic technologies just might be able to help somewhat frail or disabled older Americans age at home, and in so doing, ease the burden of family caregiving.
The same challenges face Japan. And there, the government has promoted the use of robotic nursing and other robotic services for eldercare.
(Much of this futuristic scenario is driven by research in Japan and Taiwan, notably National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, as well as US-based research centers such as MIT.)
Robotic Heath Monitors for Aging Boomer Parents
Robots might not exactly have a human heart but they can be of tremendous assistance, including physical and even emotional support, for elderly, housebound or partially disabled people who wish to age at home:
- Clothing with Sensors: By the time the oldest baby boomers, now age 63 or 64, reach the ripe age of 90, it's possible they won’t think twice about wearing “healthy” underwear and shirts with tiny health sensors that can monitor vital signs, and send the information electronically to a health provider. The advantage? There's a steady flow of medical information between visits to the doctor.
- "Smart Homes": Instead of living in institutions, older boomers of the future might age at home in “smart homes.” There, computer-driven devices would measure their blood pressure, pulse, and glucose levels–and relay the information to health providers or adult children. The advantage: people can age at home, anywhere.
- Robotic Pill Dispensers: For the elderly who are aging at home, live-in robots may smile and deliver the day's pills as needed. The advantage: Older people often confuse their medications.
- Robotic Health Monitors and Exercise Coach: A personalized health monitor attached to the TV might interrupt an octogenarian's favorite program, but it will remind him or her to stretch.
- Electronic Fall Sensors in Bathrooms: Falling is one of the problems faced by elderly people living at home. In the event that mom or dad takes a fall in the bathroom at 2 AM, sensors in the floor that regularly measure their gait will set off an alarm which in turn will trigger a phone call or personal visit by a nurse.
Robotic Nurses by 2020?
In the future, nursing care may arrive on wheels, not on foot.
- Where the Technology is Today: Japan leads the world in using robots for personal medical services. In March 2009, an electronics publication broadcast the headline"Greying Japan Plans Robo-nurses in Five Years: Govt." cited a Japanese government official saying, "Japan plans to prepare safety rules soon for robot nurses, which are expected to serve humans within five years in the fast-greying society,"
Robots Help with Household Work for Boomers and Elderly
“Service robots” (the household version of the industrial robot) may become increasingly adept in the next decade at doing the mundane tasks of daily living. With luck, they may be able to fold laundry, make beds, make telephone delivery orders, and deliver the mail.(And no, they don't look like Rosie, the Jetson's robot maid.)
- Where the Technology is Today: Robotic maids that can straighten rooms were being touted by the Japanese media, Asahi Shimbun, last year.
Car Safety and Seniors: New Computerized Programs Compensate for Vision Loss
Getting around can be a challenge to ailing boomers or disabled senior citizens who are aging at home. So, imagine a car with a personalized interface to help an older driver avoid collisions, for instance, by controlling distances between cars and compensating for an older driver’s declining vision, depth perception, and other corrections essential to road safety.
- Where the Technology is Today: This car is under development by Japan's largest public R&D management organization, NEDO.
In all, the jury is still out on service robots. But just as a decade ago it was hard to imagine a world filled with IPhones and Blackberrys, robotic technology may sneak up on us all as the nation confronts issues of caring for an aging and elderly population, many of whom wish to age at home.
For more reading:
MIT Media Lab, www.media.mit.edu/about
"Clothes That Monitor Health: A new patch tracks electrolyte levels in sweat", by Kristina Grifantini, April 17, 2008, MIT Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/20642/)For Photos:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/robots.html
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