Discover the Life-Saving Power of AI: How It’s Revolutionizing Elderly Care!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many areas of human life, including healthcare. AI technology is making it easier for geriatric caregivers to save lives and improve the quality of life for our aging population.
The elderly are among the most vulnerable groups of people, and the healthcare industry is always looking for ways to improve their care. AI is playing a significant role in powerfully transforming elderly care. With AI, detecting changes in an elderly person’s health becomes easy.
Many people in retirement homes or personal care facilities have complex and interconnected medical needs. There may be multiple health care providers such as physicians, nurses, and therapists. These providers might not have an integrated view of the patient’s health, which can lead to coordination challenges and delays in treatment. AI solves this problem by providing a centralized digital health record that can be accessed by all concerned parties.
AI also addresses preventative measures by providing continuous monitoring of elderly patients. AI can analyze data from devices such as fitness trackers, sensors, and wearable technology to track diet, sleep patterns, and exercise levels. This analysis provides valuable insights into the patient’s health and well-being that can help caregivers make informed decisions, regarding treatment and care.
AI also has predictive capabilities that can help healthcare providers see healthcare trends before they become critical. These insights help caregivers to anticipate potential issues before they arise, reducing hospitalizations, and saving lives.
With AI, it is easier to automate and streamline processes that traditionally have been time-consuming, freeing up caregivers to focus on more personalized care. For example, staffing is a significant issue in elderly care facilities. AI-powered robots can attend to residents’ needs while medical staff can provide more complex services.
AI also plays a significant role in remote care for elderly patients who prefer to remain in their homes. With telemedicine, AI can communicate routine health check-ins, medication management, and mental wellbeing assessments to healthcare providers.
In a nutshell, AI is revolutionizing elderly care by providing better health outcomes, enhancing people’s quality of life, and reducing healthcare costs. With aging populations worldwide, AI is needed more than ever to detect, prevent and treat complex health issues associated with elderly care.
Humankind needs to start investing more in AI technology to safeguard the elderly, who have contributed significantly to our society. A digital revolution is underway, and we can join forces with AI to ensure that elderly care remains on the forefront of the healthcare industry’s priorities.
References:
https://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_28-11-2019-12-11-14
https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/tracking-seniors-health-wearables-and-ai
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to monitor the elderly, but some experts say the practice raises ethical issues.
Key Takeaways
- AI could help monitor the elderly to make up for a shortfall of workers in the senior care industry. South Korea is trying out an AI system that calls seniors and asks about their symptoms. Some experts are concerned that AI-guided robot companions could replace human contact for the elderly.
CareCall is a new artificial intelligence (AI) system that checks in on seniors by giving them a call. It’s part of a burgeoning industry of AI tools and robots that could help assist people who are aging. However, there are concerns that AI-guided robot companions could end up replacing human contact for the elderly.
“Robots must be sensitive and empathetic and compassionate, accompanying care acts with genuine concern and conveying feeling,” said Ron Baecker, an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, where he founded the Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab, in an email interview. “We are nowhere close to achieving this, so governments and senior care organizations need to be aware of the dangers of entrusting the care of our seniors to robot’ caregivers.'”
AI That Calls and Cares
The Clova CareCall system is an AI voice assistant used to see how Korean seniors are feeling after getting Covid-19 vaccinations. The free service began last year in Jeonju City, South Korea.
For three days after getting their shots, people got phone calls asking whether they were experiencing symptoms. The AI voice assistant can understand responses and automatically involve a human respondent. Before the system was implemented, inquiries had to be made by government officials. Initially, the AI system made two calls a day, inquiring about people’s temperatures and symptoms.
“Today’s technology advancements afford us the opportunity to deliver an entirely new standard of care,” Terrence Poon, the founder of Twin Health, which provides remote care solutions for chronic metabolic disease, said via email. “AI and digital twin technology provide care teams with access to real-time health data and trend analysis, so they can provide patients with comprehensive care from anywhere. What’s more, these insights also provide chronic disease patients with an invaluable self-management tool between doctor visits and can be used for remote monitoring.”
Other AI systems are already helping fill in care gaps for the elderly. For example, Sensi.ai offers an AI-based virtual care management platform for home care agencies. The Israeli startup Sensi.AI uses an auditory system that monitors a person’s daily routine, environment, and well-being.
The system listens and learns the client’s environment. Then, after two weeks, it creates a baseline of their daily routine so that it can then detect and measure any unusual or irregular events and alert those in charge.
“Off shift hours, Sensi serves as a much-needed virtual support platform, providing the elderly with confidence and independence in a safe, monitored environment without compromising their privacy,” Romi Gubes, CEO of Sensi.ai, said via email. “With Sensi, seniors are now, more than ever before, able to age on their own terms, in the comfort of their own homes, with the dignity and respect that they deserve.”
With the biggest staffing shortage in history, AI can diminish the workload for caregivers, so they can focus on where they are needed most for personal care.
“With the biggest staffing shortage in history, AI can diminish the workload for caregivers, so they can focus on where they are needed most for personal care,” Kris Singleton, the president of Enseo, a technology services provider for senior living, told Lifewire in an email interview. “Technology and AI also empower residents to find independence with a purpose to control their own environment.”
Robot Companions
A serious problem for seniors is loneliness, but AI now supports the construction of lifelike robots that could help, Baecker said. One automaton on the market is Paro, the Robot Seal, a cute and cuddly animal-like interactive ‘intelligent’ robotic seal intended to be a companion to seniors.
“Interaction with animals is beneficial for seniors, yet many care facilities do not accept animals,” Baecker said. “It was designed as a seal, rather than, for example, a cat because few people know how a seal behaves. Hence most people would not notice ‘imperfections’ in Paro’s reactions.”
Correction 02/15/2022: Added to the description of Twin Health in paragraph 6 to clarify the company’s services.
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