Event Time: 11:00 -
Event Location: Center for Health and Healing Conference Center (3rd Floor), room 1A/B
Presenter: Alex Mihailidis, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Toronto; Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab
Abstract:
Globally, older adults constitute the fastest growing population group. As such, finding ways of supporting older adults who wish to continue living independently in their own homes, as opposed to moving to a long-term care facility, is a growing social problem. However, the goal of “aging-in-place” is becoming increasingly difficult as an increasing number of older adults are living alone in their homes (often in rural areas), and as the proportion of this population with a cognitive disability such as dementia increases.
This presentation will focus on the development of intelligent systems and smart homes to support the wellness of older adults and aging-in-place. Specifically, it will provide an overview of the design approach and philosophy that is currently being applied by the Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab (University of Toronto, Canada), and two projects that are currently being completed. In describing the design approach, an overview of a new program where actors portraying older adults with dementia are employed in the design process will be presented. Next, two example projects where this approach has been used will be described. The first project is the COACH, which is an intelligent prompting system to help guide older adults with dementia through common self-care activities. It uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to monitor the progress of a user during an activity, and to make decisions as to the type and level of assistance that is required. The second project is HELPER, which is an intelligent emergency response and health monitoring system. Using computer vision and speech recognition, this system monitors the activity levels of an older adult, including the occurrence of spontaneous adverse events, such as falls. In the case of an adverse event, the system automatically decides on the level of response that is appropriate based on a simple exchange of yes/no answers and questions with the user.
Biography:
Alex Mihailidis, Ph.D., P.Eng., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (University of Toronto). He has been conducting research in the field of pervasive computing and intelligent systems in health for the past 12 years, having published over 80 journal papers, conference papers, and abstracts in this field. He has specifically focused on the development of intelligent home systems for elder care and wellness, technology for children with autism, and adaptive tools for nurses and clinical applications. He currently holds several major research grants from internationally recognized funding agencies to support this work (including both the Canadian and American Alzheimer Associations, NSERC, and Intel Corporation). He is also a CIHR New Investigator. His research has been completed through collaborations with other researchers in this field from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and with various industrial partners. Dr. Mihailidis has also co-edited two books: one from CRC Press entitled “Pervasive computing in healthcare”, and the other from IOS Press entitled “Technology and Aging”, which resulted from him being the conference chair for the 2nd International Conference on Technology and Aging.
Questions? Please contact:
Tracy Zitzelberger, MPH
Administrative Director and Research Associate
Oregon Center for Aging & Technology
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd CR131
Portland, OR 97239
503.494.7198 office . 503.494.7499 fax
zitzelbe@ohsu.edu . www.orcatech.org