Table 1.
Short synthesis of some projects that reflect the state-of-the-art in Romania in the field of research aimed at the remote health monitoring of the elderly.
| “Smart assistant to prevent and detect cognitive decline, promote cognitive function and social inclusion among older adults (ReMember-Me)” Project [51] | |
|---|---|
| Brief presentation | The solution developed in this project aims to monitor, detect, and prevent the cognitive decline of the elderly. It comprises a robot, computer games, and sensors for gathering data on the seniors’ status. A monitoring platform is also provided for connecting the elderly with their caretakers and other seniors. |
| Bottlenecks | It focuses mainly on cognitive issues, without correlating them with other current or potential co-morbidities of the elderly. |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | The RO-SmartAgeing system provides a framework and facilities for a broad modern approach to the health management of the elderly. The medical history is corroborated and continuously updated with information and data gathered through the RO-SmartAgeing smart environment in real time. The empowerment and engagement of seniors in the management of their health status are strongly taken into consideration and implemented in various functionalities. |
| “Red-Button—Integrated services of socio-medical care at home monitored through the telecare system” Project [52] | |
| Brief presentation | The project aimed to develop an innovative system for the teleassistance of single elderly persons in Romania. The main device used in this system is a smart bracelet with an SOS button able to trigger an alert signal to the Emergency Medical Dispatcher. This one receives access to the medical history of the senior patient and triggers a personalized emergency protocol, as well as informs the family. |
| Bottlenecks | The system is still under-development, and it does not provide enlarged functionalities for evaluating the health status, such as continuous health monitoring. |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | The solution proposed by the RO-SmartAgeing system provides comprehensive capabilities for personalized health monitoring of the elderly, and it facilitates access to supporting information for an independent, active, and healthy life. It also provides functionalities for the assessment of the current health status of the elderly, as their mental and emotional ones. |
| “Inclusive online platform for senior adults (iCan)” Project [53] | |
| Brief presentation | The solution developed in this project aims to support seniors in their daily life, increasing their motivation to use digital solutions to connect with their families. Some “smart” games, home delivery assistance, and ordering taxis for elderly users are also available. |
| Bottlenecks | The focus of this solution is to help and entertain the elderly; health monitoring is a secondary target. |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | The medical component of the RO-SmartAgeing system is its core part, and it aims to support the elderly, their caretakers, and health professionals to non-intrusively monitor the seniors’ health status and daily activities in an age-friendly environment and to provide functionalities able to offer a broad range of information regarding the evolution of their health. At the same time, the information provided by the support services component assists its users in gaining knowledge about successful and safe aging. |
| “Clinically-validated INtegrated Support for Assistive Care and Lifestyle Improvement: the Human Link (vINCI)” Project [54] | |
| Brief presentation | The solution provided by the vINCI project is based on some technologies developed by the project partners: a smartwatch, smart shoes, and indoor tracking algorithms. It aims to assist the caretakers and the elderly (as out-patients) with smart care. |
| Bottlenecks | The main scope of remote health monitoring is gathering data for assessing several factors that influence seniors’ quality of life. The number of monitoring technology is quite small. |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | The RO-SmartAgeing system comprises more IoT-based devices, thus allowing a larger range of health parameters to be monitored and used for more comprehensive medical assistance support. |
| “Smart Big Data Platform to Offer Evidence-based Personalised Support for Healthy and Independent Living at Home (SMART BEAR)” [55] | |
| Brief presentation | The solution provided by this project aims to optimize the management of the elderly’s diseases and associated risks. It assesses the quality of life of the elderly and their independence level. It comprises sensors, assistive medical, and mobile devices to gather health parameters able to support independent and healthy living. |
| Bottlenecks | The provided solution is not personalized for a specific user. The targeted elderly category is restricted to persons aged 67–80 and with a medical history containing at least two health conditions (from a pre-defined five). |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | While the SMART BEAR project has been developed by 27 European partners, the RO-SmartAgeing system has been developed by a single team from Romania; therefore, its aims were not so broad. Even so, its comprehensive functionalities cover most of the above-mentioned ones. Moreover, the RO-SmartAgeing system provides in one of its components informative support for the elderly, their caretakers, and any person interested in a healthy, independent, and active life and aging. The RO-SmartAgeing smart environment can be personalized according to the elderly’s specificities and health status evolution. |
| “Ella4Life, your virtual personal assistant for home and on the road” [56] | |
| Brief presentation | The solution developed in this project is based on a mobile solution (that supports the elderly to have an active and healthy life while connecting them with their caretaker and health specialists), an avatar (that assists through speech the elderly in performing daily activities), and specially developed sensor technology (that allows remote health monitoring). |
| Bottlenecks | Only several chronic diseases are addressed. No alarm triggers are provided. The targeted elderly are supposed to be in quite a good state of mental health. |
| Contribution of RO-SmartAgeing system to the progress beyond the state-of-the-art in Romania | Even if the RO-SmartAgeing system is not provided with speaking capabilities, and it is intended to be used only indoors, it provides functionalities able to support both the management of primary care and of several age-related diseases, including the mental and emotional health of the elderly. Furthermore, it can be personalized according to the specific needs of the senior, and alarms are triggered in case of an emergency or abnormal event. |