Home care technologies for promoting successful aging in elderly populations

Advancements in sensor, telecommunications, computer, and information technologies present opportunities for providing at-home health care and other services required by America's rapidly aging population. The HomeCare & Telerehabilitation Technology Center at The Catholic University of America has been investigating and evaluating current and emerging technologies for applications to care for elderly populations. This paper discusses a spectrum of technologies for interactive communications, physiologic monitoring, health and safety monitoring, health data collection, as well as storage and archiving. An integrated approach to combine and implement these technologies in the home environment may serve to promote successful aging in the elderly by avoiding disease, by maintaining cognitive and physical function, and by enabling lifelong engagement.