EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO

SUPPORT AN AGING

POPULATION

A Report by the 

TASK FORCE ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR

TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT AGING ADULTS 

COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY 

of the 

NATIONAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL 

March 2019
About the National Science and Technology Council

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is the principal means by which the Executive

Branch coordinates science and technology policy across the diverse entities that make up the Federal

research and development enterprise. A primary objective of the NSTC is to ensure that science and

technology policy decisions and programs are consistent with the President's stated goals. The NSTC

prepares research and development strategies that are coordinated across Federal agencies aimed at

accomplishing multiple national goals. The work of the NSTC is organized under committees that

oversee subcommittees and working groups focused on different aspects of science and technology.

More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/nstc.

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was established by the National Science and

Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to provide the President and others within

the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific, engineering, and technological

aspects of the economy, national security, homeland security, health, foreign relations, the

environment, and the technological recovery and use of resources, among other topics. OSTP leads

interagency science and technology policy coordination efforts, assists the Office of Management and

Budget with an annualreview and analysis of Federalresearch and developmentin budgets, and serves

as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgmentforthe President with respectto major

policies, plans, and programs of the Federal Government. More information is available at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp.

About the Task Force on Research and Development for Technology to

Support Aging Adults

The Task Force was established under the NSTC Committee on Technology to examine the potential of

technology to maximize the independence of aging Americans by increasing opportunities for social

engagement and connectivity as well as reducing the impact of any cognitive and physical limitations.

About this Document

This report identifies a range of emerging technologies that have significant potential to assist older

adults with successfully aging in place, each categorized by their role in supporting a set of primary

capabilities. It identifies a number of focus areas that could support each capability and provides

recommendations for research and development (R&D) that are required to develop key technology

solutions over the coming decade. Cross-cutting topics that affect multiple capabilities are also

discussed. These recommendations are offered as a guide for both public and private sector R&D. The

overall goal is to improve the quality of life, enhance individual choice, reduce the financial and

emotional burden of care to individuals and families, and reduce the burden of providing care on the

American healthcare infrastructure.

Copyright Information

This document is a work of the United States Government and is in the public domain (see 17 U.S.C.

§105). It may be distributed and copied with acknowledgment to OSTP. Published in the United States

of America, 2019.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

– i –

NATIONAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

Chair

Kelvin Droegemeier, Director, OSTP

Staff

Chloé Kontos, Executive Director, NSTC

COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY

Co-Chairs

Walter Copan, Under Secretary of Commerce

for Standards and Technology, and Director of

NIST, DOC

Paul Dabbar, Under Secretary for Science,

DOE

Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the

President, OSTP

Staff

Lloyd Whitman, Principal Assistant Director

for Physical Sciences and Engineering, OSTP

TASK FORCE ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY TO

SUPPORT AGING ADULTS

Co-Chairs

Michele J. Grimm, NSF

Nina Silverberg, NIH

Executive Secretary

Vijeth Iyengar, ACL

OSTP Liaison

Lloyd Whitman, OSTP

Members*

John Allen, NASA

Alicia Anderson, HUD

Partha Bhattacharyya, NIH

Arlene Bierman, AHRQ

Elizabeth Cochran, HUD

Caroline Crocoll, USDA

Annette Devito Dabbs, ONC

Augie Diana, NIH

Deniz Erten-Lyons, VA

Jackie Haven, USDA

Erin Iturriaga, NIH

Shelly Jackson, DOJ

Lyndon Joseph, NIH

Naomi Karp, CFPB

Amy Kind, VA

Naomi Lefkowitz, NIST

 

* As affiliated at the time each member contributed to this report.

Beth Linas, NSF

Greg Link, ACL

Roger Miller, NIH

Wendy Nilsen, NSF

Lisa Opanashuk, NIH

Ingrid Parrington, DOD

John Phillips, SSA

Ashley Predith, DOE

Lisa Simone, FDA

David Stout, NSF

Erika Tarver, NIH

Jane Tilly, ACL

Leigh Van Rij, HUD

Mohammed Yousuf, DOT
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................... iv

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... v

I. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1

Scope and Organization of This Report ..............................................................................................1

II. Key Activities of Independent Living.............................................................................. 3 

Hygiene.................................................................................................................................................4

Nutrition ...............................................................................................................................................6

Medication............................................................................................................................................6

III. Cognition ................................................................................................................... 8 

Cognitive Monitoring ...........................................................................................................................8

Cognitive Training................................................................................................................................9

Financial Security...............................................................................................................................10

IV. Communication and Social Connectivity.......................................................................11 

Hearing ...............................................................................................................................................11

Communication with Diverse Communities .....................................................................................13

Social Communication Technologies ...............................................................................................13

V. Personal Mobility .......................................................................................................14 

Assisted Movement............................................................................................................................14

Rehabilitation.....................................................................................................................................15

Monitoring and Safety........................................................................................................................15

VI. Transportation ..........................................................................................................16 

Driving ................................................................................................................................................17

Public Transportation........................................................................................................................17

VII. Access to Healthcare...................................................................................................19 

Telehealth ..........................................................................................................................................20

eCare Planning ...................................................................................................................................21

VIII. Cross-Cutting Themes.................................................................................................23 

System Needs.....................................................................................................................................23

User Adoption ....................................................................................................................................24

Functionality ......................................................................................................................................25

Privacy and Security ..........................................................................................................................26

Data and Algorithms ..........................................................................................................................26

Evaluation ..........................................................................................................................................27

Technology Safety and Performance Needs.....................................................................................27

Family Caregiver Needs .....................................................................................................................28

Smart Homes......................................................................................................................................29
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACL Administration for Community Living

ACS American community survey

AD Alzheimer’s disease

ADL activities of daily living

AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOJ Department of Justice

DOT Department of Transportation

eCare electronic care

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FDA Food and Drug Administration

GPS global positioning system

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development

IADL instrumental activities of daily living

IT information technology

IoT internet of things

MCI mild cognitive impairment

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NIH National Institutes of Health

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology

NSF National Science Foundation

NSTC National Science and Technology Council

ONC Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy

R&D research and development

SSA Social Security Administration

TAAG Telecommunication Act Accessibility Guidelines

TRL technology readiness level

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

USDA United States Department of Agriculture
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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Executive Summary

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the number of people in the United States aged 65 or older will

grow to 95 million by the year 2060 and comprise nearly a quarter of the population. The combination

of the projected growth of this segment of the population and the desire of many older Americans to

live independently in their homes and communities makes it critical that the Federal Government

proactively develop strategies, tools, and recommendations to enable them to live healthy,

independent lives. The Task Force on Research and Development for Technology to Support Aging

Adults was established under the NSTC Committee on Technology to examine the potential of

technology to maximize independence for older Americans by sustaining health, independence, and

opportunities for social engagement.

This report identifies a range of emerging technologies that have significant potential to assist older

adults, and it is offered as a guide for both public and private sector research and development (R&D)

to improve the quality of life, enhance individual choice, reduce caregiver stress, and cut healthcare

costs. The Task Force identified six primary functional capabilities as being critical to individuals who

wish to maintain their independence as they age and for which technology may have a positive impact.

1. Key Activities of Independent Living. Living independently requires the ability to perform of a

range of activities that impact our daily lives. Many of these activities can be assisted through

technology, including those that support good nutrition, hygiene, and medication management.

2. Cognition. Cognitive changes are common during aging, with increasing prevalence at older

ages—varying in severity and impact. These changes can affect the ability to live independently as

well as personal safety. Technology holds the promise to help older adults monitor changes in

their cognition, provide mental training to reduce the impact ofthese changes, and create systems

that assist individuals and families to maintain financial security.

3. Communication and Social Connectivity. Older adults may face communication challenges as

the result of hearing loss, social isolation, and loneliness, especially in economically distressed and

ruralcommunities.Technologycanimprovehearingandstrengthenconnectionstolargercommunities.

4. Personal Mobility. Mobility is a key factor in successful aging. To live independently, an individual

must have the ability to comfortably and safely move around the home and throughout the larger

community. Technology can assist older adults in staying mobile and able to safely perform key

activities necessary for day-to-day life as well as interact with their communities.

5. Transportation. True independence requires mobility outside of the home and neighborhood.

Transportation needs and limitations are dictated to an extent by the changes to individual

physical and cognitive abilities that come with age. While some older adults remain completely

independent and continue to drive without assistance, others may be able to drive but require

vehicle modification and/or advanced technologies to assist them while operating a vehicle. New 

technologies could also help older adults more safely and easily use public transportation.

6. Access to Healthcare. Access to healthcare plays a critical role in helping older adults stay active

and independent as they age. Activities and strategies that support the maintenance of function

and independence with age are multifaceted. Alignment and coordination ofthese efforts through

technology can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of these services. 

In the process of identifying primary capabilities and focus areas in which technological advances can

have a positive impact in enabling older adults to age in place, several areas emerged that are

associated with a number of technological solutions and were therefore not specific to individual R&D

recommendations. These areas are included in the final section of the report, Cross-Cutting Themes.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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I. Introduction

The number of Americans aged 65 or older is growing rapidly—increasing by 40% between 2000 and

2016 to approximately 50 million people, over 15% of the total population1—and is expected to grow to

nearly a quarter of the population by 2060.

2 For older Americans living outside of a nursing home, 25%

of those aged 65 to 74 and 50% of those aged 75 and older have reported some kind of disability, such

as problems with vision, hearing, or mobility.3 The combination ofthe projected growth ofthis segment

of the population and the desire of many older Americans to live independently in their homes and

communities makes it critical that the Federal Government proactively develop strategies, tools, and

recommendations to enable older Americans to live healthy, independent lives for as long as possible.

“We’re on the verge of new technological revolutions that could improve

virtually every aspect of our lives, create vast new wealth for American workers

and families, and open up bold, new frontiers in science, medicine, and

communication.” - President Donald J. Trump4

The Trump Administration has made finding solutions for an aging population a research and

development (R&D) priority.5 The overarching goals of this R&D should be to enhance the functional

independence and continued safety, well-being, and health of older Americans, while reducing overall

economic costs and the stress on the Nation’s healthcare infrastructure. Achieving these goals will:

 improve the quality of life and continued contributions of active and independent individuals to

the greater community and the economy;

 enhance individual choice with respect to living arrangements;

 reduce the financial and emotional stress on informal and unpaid family caregivers; and

 reduce the cost to the American healthcare system, including not only hospital and nursing home

expenses, but also expenses related to long-term care services and support.

While the primary purpose of this report is to broadly identify for both public and private sector

stakeholders the R&D that is needed to create technology to support an aging population, the

capabilities enabled by such technology also hold promise to improve and enrich the lives of all

Americans with challenges common in older adults, such as mobility, social connection, cognitive

changes, and general health and nutrition. The development of technology to assist older adults is a

large and rapidly growing industry that could be accelerated by R&D in areas highlighted in this report.

Scope and Organization of This Report

In preparing this report, the Task Force first identified the primary capabilities that older adults must

maintain to continue to live independently (e.g.,the ability to perform the Key Activities of Independent

Living), as well as more focused areas deemed key to those capabilities and most likely to benefit from

advances in technology (e.g., hygiene, nutrition). It then reviewed a diverse spectrum of emerging

technologies and systems designed or with the potential to maintain those capabilities within each

 

1 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/cb17-100.html

2 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html

3 http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/StatusReports/2016-PDF/2016-StatusReport_US.pdf

4 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-american-leadership-emergingtechnology-event/

5 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/M-18-22.pdf
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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area. Based on this review and a subsequent gap analysis, the Task Force identified functional needs

(e.g., maintain oral health) that could potentially be met by new technological advances (e.g., develop

systems to support personalized dental regimens) and the R&D required to develop those technology

solutions over the next five to ten years. This report and the technologies discussed herein do not

represent a comprehensive review ofthe current state of each field but are intended to highlight a range

of promising and/or key technologies in each of the focus areas of the report.

In addition to scientific and engineering research needed to further the development of the technology

itself, the report includes recommendations for research necessary to inform the development of

standards and policies. In addition, the report notes a number of social and behavioral science factors

that will impact acceptance and implementation of new technologies. Achieving all of these advances

will require partnerships between the public and private sectors for both R&D and implementation,

with the private sector leading the way in product development and deployment.

The Task Force recognizes that the abilities of individuals and their needs for technology will vary

significantly—both within the population and for individuals over time. Age-related changes in

cognitive and physical abilities are not static and, in some cases, may be either transient (e.g.,

movement limitations following joint replacement) or time-variable (e.g., sundowning phenomenon of

dementia). Therefore, the ability to monitor and assess the needs of aging individuals over time, and to

identify appropriate technologies or adapt technologies to these changing needs, will be key to each of

these areas of technology R&D and implementation. In addition, the needs of older adults living at

home are expected to differ from the general population, and research targeted at identifying these

unique factors is recommended such that appropriate and optimized solutions can be developed.

The report discusses six primary capabilities identified as being critical to individuals who wish to

maintain their independence as they age and for which technology may be able to have a positive

impact, as well as a set of cross-cutting themes relevant in all or most of the six primary areas:

• Key Activities of Independent Living

• Cognition

• Communication and Social Connectivity

• Personal Mobility

• Transportation

• Access to Healthcare

• Cross-Cutting Themes 

Each primary capability is divided into a group of focus areas. Each focus area includes a set of key

functional needs that are ripe for innovative technology solutions, followed by a bulleted list of

recommended R&D topics needed to develop those solutions.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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II. Key Activities of Independent Living

The ability to live independently requires performance of a range of activities. These key activities are

called the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and include eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring,

walking, and managing continence. 6Instrumental ADLs (IADLs) are another category of activities

necessary for functioning in community settings and include cooking, driving, using the telephone or

computer, shopping, keeping track of finances, managing medication, doing laundry, and

housekeeping.

The integration of home technologies such as sensors, apps, and even robots represents an opportunity

to support independent living among the older population. In addition, these home technologies can

impact home care, not only by making it more efficient in terms of costs and timing of health-related

treatment, but also by offering solutions that encourage independent living and enhanced quality of

life for aging adults. For solutions to be effective, ongoing assessment of an individual’s level of function

and need for assistance is required. Early on, small home modifications may suffice; however, overtime,

more interventions may be needed, including user-friendly assistive technologies. Changes in health

and function can be a factor when an older adult and his or her family decide that institutionalized care

is required, and it may be possible to defer that decision through the use of appropriate and effective

assistive technologies. An evolving suite of technologies will be required to maximize independence

throughout the continuum of care.

Many basic devices have been developed to better support the key activities of independent living, but

many assistive technologies are in their infancy and/or not widely available. What is available may

require further evaluation before being implemented more widely or may benefit from research into its

effectiveness and value. Understanding how older adults use technology and the best methods for

teaching them how to utilize the technology to meet their needs is key to supporting adoption and

avoiding user frustration. Cost and convenience also play a role in adoption of technology for older

adults, since many older adults live on fixed incomes. New assistive technology research should fill a

need that is not already being met for older adults; otherwise, the technology will not be considered

useful and may not be adopted.

When evaluating the needs of assistive technology for ADLs and IADLs,three focus areas were identified

that were deemed key to independent living as well as potentially benefitting from technology:

 Hygiene: bathing, oral care, and skin care, including wound prevention and care

 Nutrition: meal preparation, shopping, and eating

 Medication: management and adherence

While the capability to walk and transfer is considered to be an activity of daily living, the importance

ofthis ability to all other activities has prompted the Task Force to considerthe topic in an independent

section of the report (Section V, Personal Mobility).

 

6 https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/measuring-activities-daily-living-comparisons-across-national-surveys
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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Hygiene

The following functional needs are related to maintaining proper hygiene and can be enhanced

through new technology. Recommended R&D topics are listed for each. This structure of listing

functional needs for each focus area, followed by a bulleted list of recommended R&D topics to fulfill

that need, continues throughout the report.

Enable Safe and Regular Bathing and Showering to Maintain Healthy Skin. The bathroom is one of

the most dangerous places for older adults.7 Bathing and showering can be a challenge for people

whose mobility and flexibility is limited. This challenge can result in slips and falls that can cause

serious, life-altering injury or death. Being able to bathe or shower regularly and safely is essential to

maintaining health and dignity at any age and is especially important for older adults who wish to live

independently. Recommendations for R&D to enable safe and regular bathing and showering and to

minimize pathogen transfer include the following:

 Optimize and test smart showers that can sense the presence of an individual and accordingly

adjust the timing, water flow, and/or temperature to meet the person’s specific needs. Showers

could include sensors that time water flow and water direction, regulate water temperature, and

control soap dispensing.

 Advance technology that supports self-care monitoring and provides alerts to caregivers that

intervention may be needed. This technology could provide a range of patient data that can be

accessed by caregivers and/or primary care professionals via a wireless application system,

including: time-stamped data, location, water usage, water temperature, and unique physical and

behavioral changes.

 Assess the impact of home technology and the resulting changes in the hygiene-related aspects of

care delivery systems on their effectiveness and value.

 Determine the actual incidence of disease or infection due to bacterial transfer from handheld

technology. This information may supportthe development of effective messaging and behavioral

modification strategies to encourage proactive behavior in terms of hand hygiene.

 Develop robust, cost-effective materials that can reduce bacterial colonization on items that are

frequently handled (e.g., mobile technology, TV remotes).

Maintain Oral Health. The ability to care for and keep one’s own teeth is important in maintaining

quality of life. Oral health is related to taste and smell, which are also factors in healthy eating. Avoiding

dentures also reduces out-of-pocket and insurance charges. The current approach to oral health for

older adults involves going to the dentist regularly to promote prevention and obtain periodic

professional assessments and care. Because there is more variability in oral health in older adults than

in younger groups, monitoring and support for prevention in oral health at home is critical.

 Design oral health devices for use by older adults that can account for low visual acuity, poor

coordination, poor hearing, and, in some cases, diminished ability to understand instructions.

 Expand sensor measurements beyond the amount of time that someone brushes to also include

pressure, contact angle, and the tooth surfaces that are brushed.

 

7 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6022a1.htm?s_cid=mm6022a1_w
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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 Develop systems to support personalized dental regimens based on in-home assessment of the

mouth’s biological conditions (e.g., salivary biomarkers). Such regimens are expected to improve

individual dental health and reduce the cost of future interventions. Communication of data to

users and others identified by the user could also provide an early indication of changes in an

individual’s overall health.

 Advance systems of reminders, alerts, and real-time feedback to patients on their at-home oral

care. These would replace and improve upon current patient education materials. These active,

personalized dental care systems may include smart toothbrushes or embedded devices in

mirrors. Additional research on the use and effectiveness of these tools is warranted.

Prevent, Monitor, and Properly Care for Wounds. Wounds may result from many chronic illnesses,

such as diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, or may result from pressure-induced skin

degeneration in individuals with limited mobility (bedsores). Wound monitoring and care is a complex

and intricate process that may be difficult for some older adults to manage. Success at personalized

wound care requires both cognitive and physical ability. Current methods treat wounds after they

occur, which misses an opportunity for prevention or monitoring for faster healing. Advances in smart

technology, such as sensors that can detect bacteria, may prevent nursing home admissions or

hospitalizations and thereby dramatically reduce treatment costs.

 Evaluate and advance the use of smart textiles to augment natural sensation in individuals with

neuropathy. For example, prototype optical-fiber-based smart socks have been demonstrated

that can measure plantar pressure and temperature in shoes.8 Adoption of such technology could

reduce the occurrence of diabetic foot ulcers and other conditions that may progress and result in

amputation.

 Enhance automated systems for skin pressure variation in order to prevent pressure ulcers due to

continued time in a wheelchair or bed. Current recommendations for manual shifting of weight

require an individual to have adequate upper body strength and be aware of the need to shift his

or her weight, both of which can be reduced in aging individuals.

 Assess and advance technologies that automatically monitor existing wounds and infections, such

as “smart bandages” that detect movement, deliver drugs, monitor healing, detect infection, and

transmit results directly to the physician.

9

 Evaluate and advance current systems that help clinicians detect wound infections at the bedside

or in the doctor’s office. These systems would allow clinicians to prescribe appropriate therapies

sooner, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient care outcomes. For example, inexpensive,

disposable electrochemical sensors that can immediately reveal or correctly identify the type of

bacteria within a specific location 10 and simple image analysis 11 can both be effective at

monitoring wounds.

 Design an integrated system of implantable biomaterials that will administer biochemical,

electrical, or mechanical factors conducive to specific cell types to promote healing, while

monitoring bacterial growth and communicating data back to an app or caregiver.

 

8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28513212

9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26821765

10 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4853203/

11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5062001/
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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Nutrition

Meet Daily Nutritional Requirements. Meeting daily nutritional requirements is vital for the

maintenance of physical and mental health as well as for emotional well-being. Ensuring healthy eating

in older adults, who may have challenges in obtaining and preparing food, is left to the individual or

caregivers and may become a factor in the loss of independence.

• Develop improved geolocation and price comparison services to empower consumers to pursue a

healthier and more nutritious lifestyle. Price and location of food have been cited by older adults

as barriers to adopting a healthier diet.12

• Validate virtual assistants/coaching services related to food preparation to ensure that user needs

are being met and that these services are having a measurable, positive outcome on behavior.

• Evaluate automated food preparation systems, such as robotic systems,13 and continue R&D to

advance these systems as warranted.

• Enhance understanding of how older adults are employing existing technologies, such as ondemand meal/grocery delivery and online-diet coaches, to meet daily nutritional demands as well

as any factors that may impede their adoption. 

Feed One’s Self. Beyond acquiring and preparing food, individuals must be able to feed themselves to

maintain independence.

 Evaluate robotic feeding systems14 that are designed to allow individuals to feed themselves and

continue to advance the technologies to improve their effectiveness.

 Develop educational and outreach programs to support the acceptance of these robotic tools and

overcome preexisting stigma and/or negative perceptions about the use of robotics.

 Determine ways in which these assistive systems may be made more cost effective; for example,

by first deploying them in communal living environments rather than in single-family homes.

Medication

Maintain Therapeutic Medication Levels. Efficacy and safety of prescription and over-the-counter

medication relies on an individual maintaining proper dosing and avoiding negative drug interactions.

For older adults, taking multiple, duplicative, or unnecessary medications as well as taking certain

drugs can increase the risk for serious adverse reactions that could lead to falls or cognitive impairment,

limiting functional independence and requiring additional health resources. Advancements in

technologies should be considered during drug development as part of patient-centric approaches to

developing products that can better address the specific needs of older adults who may face challenges

with vision, dexterity, and cognition.

 Develop sensors thatintegrate monitoring ofreal-time physiological and pharmacological factors,

such as blood glucose, heart rate, and drug levels, with real-time monitoring of medication

adherence and physical activity. Such sensors could move the field toward a “precision

adherence” modelthat guides highly personalized and tailored therapeutic approaches, including

real-time drug dosing.

12 https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/aarp_foundation/2016-pdfs/Healthy_Living_Diet_Perceptions.pdf

13 For example, see http://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/17234/07322264.pdf

14 For example, see https://www.resna.org/sites/default/files/conference/2016/emerging_technology/chung.html
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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 Design integrated sensor approaches to help avoid dangerous drug toxicities or interactions that

may result from over medicating or improperly mixing medications.

 Improve adherence monitoring by leveraging tools like wireless medication pill organizers,

electronic packaging, and digital pills. Passive sensors offer novel opportunities for real-time

intervention and adherence feedback, delivered alone or in combination with cellphone-based

technologies.

 Develop technology to help people with impaired vision identify their medications, read

medication labels and inserts, and verify that they are accurately taking their medications.

 Advance mobile phone-based adherence interventions beyond daily reminders through more

sophisticated comparisons oftext message content and timing. Interventions should also diversify

beyond text messages to better incorporate a broad set of existing and emerging wireless and

connected health technologies. These tools provide exceptional capacities fortailoring adherence

interventions in response to personal preferences and observed behaviors through adaptive

programming or artificial intelligence. Additionally, such technologies could assist older adults

with timing their medications when foods or other drugs may positively or negatively affect their

effectiveness and safety.

 Develop context-aware technology that can detect and understand the relationships between

users and their environments and activities (e.g., surroundings, work and home routines, exercise

habits) to support precision regimens. Advances in analytics may allow technology to actively

adapt to a user’s needs.

 Develop automated medication reconciliation systems and clinical decision support systems that

allow clinicians to understand a person’s full medication use to reduce the simultaneous use of

multiple medications and unintentional duplication of therapy, and ultimately to adopt simplified

prescription regimens that are more effective, safer, and easier for users to follow.

 Identify the most effective ways to reportinformation on adherence back to providers by providing

data that is accessible, actionable, and delivered at the right time to the appropriate members of

healthcare teams, including pharmacy staff.

 Integrate mobile adherence data with electronic health records to foster better individual

adherence outcomes as well as facilitate the testing of large-scale system interventions and health

information exchanges. Such data integration could generate evidence to improve medication

management across populations. Whether at a large or a small scale, proven and promising

adherence interventions with mobile and connected health technologies should be moved into

routine care settings and tested through rigorous implementation science.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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III. Cognition

Cognitive changes are common during aging, with increasing prevalence at older ages and spanning in

severity and impact from the ubiquitous “senior moment” to advanced dementia. Cognitive decline

interferes with a person’s ability to manage chronic health conditions that are known risk factors for

dementia, including high blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, and various forms of heart disease.

Therefore, technologies that help to monitor these conditions and coordinate care will increase the

ability of individuals to live independently. (Technologies for coordinating patient care are discussed in

Section VII, Access to Healthcare.)

In 2017, there were 50 million cases of dementia across the globe. In the same year, the United States

had approximately 6 million people over the age of 65 with clinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild

cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD, along with approximately 47 million people with biological signs

of AD (amyloidosis, neurodegeneration, or both). By 2060, the number of people in the United States

with clinical AD or MCI due to AD is predicted to grow to 15 million.15 As a result of the prevalence of AD

and other dementias, along with the estimated increase to 152 million cases worldwide by 2050, the

WorldHealthOrganization declared dementia to be a public health priority.16 Given the aging oftheU.S.

population, innovative models of care are needed to meet the demand for high-quality, personcentered care.

Management of AD is expensive, both to families and society. Estimates from 2010 suggest that care for

people with AD in the United States cost up to $215 billion dollars that year, and that most of this cost

was borne by family or informal caregivers. 17 For example, care-related costs for a person with

dementia are predicted to be $184,500 higher over a lifetime (86% incurred by families) than for an

individual without dementia.18

Existing and future technologies offer both challenges and opportunities in the everyday assistance of

cognition for older adults. Incorporating the perspective and preferences of older adults, including

differences that may exist based on gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background, is important in

intervention planning that involves technology. The manner in which older adults relate to technology

as a potential support for everyday life—both present and future—will determine the role that these

technologies play.

Technology advances may help remotely monitor older adults for changes in cognition, for changes in

their ability to maintain independence in daily activities, and for safety in their daily lives. Three focus

areas have been identified for mitigating changes in cognition: cognitive monitoring, cognitive training,

and financial security. As in the prior section, each focus area includes a set of key functional needs

followed by a list of recommended R&D topics.

Cognitive Monitoring

Regularly Assess Reasoning, Memory, and Communication Abilities. Because baseline cognitive

ability varies significantly from person to person, and assessments can often be influenced by a

person’s quality and duration of education as well as many other factors, determining what is normal

 

15 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29233480

16 https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia

17 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23902508

18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28815557
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for an individual is not straightforward. Many changes in cognition are recognized only after the fact,

when more severe impairment is identified, and subsequent efforts to prevent decline may be too late.

Technology can help eliminate many of the inherent issues with current standard assessments by

allowing real-time, frequent, unobtrusive, objective measures that allow detection of more subtle, presymptomatic changes. Recommendations for R&D to address the need to regularly assess reasoning,

memory, and communication abilities include the following:

 Determine the feasibility, validity, reliability, and health/social impacts of technological

approaches for cognitive assessment. Evaluations oftechnologies should be based on their use by

diverse, real-world populations. Research should particularly address older adults living within

highly disadvantaged contexts or from low-resource groups.

 Obtain data related to the cost effectiveness of these technologies as well as which groups are

most likely to benefit from them.

 Understand how remote technologies can be practically integrated into health system operations

and healthcare delivery, as well as what format improves clinicians’ willingness and comfort using

these technologies.

 Assess whether the perceived benefits of monitoring technologies outweigh potential concerns

regarding privacy, autonomy, and consent; determine who is permitted access to and use of the

information gathered, especially for continuous monitoring; and clarify who is responsible for any

action based on the information gathered.

Cognitive Training

Enhance Baseline Ability. There is considerable interest in identifying methods that will improve

cognition to help stave off decline. Thus far, most cognitive training technology available to the public

has been developed for the direct-to-consumer market. Although there has been empirical support for

modest improvements to narrowly-defined aspects of cognition following interventions in research

settings, the efficacy of most products on the market has not been supported by independent research.

 Determine whether cognitive training, and which type of cognitive training, is an effective method

to improve or delay age-related cognitive decline and/or onset of pathological cognitive

impairment. Determine which domains of functioning are affected and for how long. This research

would clarify the potential benefits as considered by evidence-based reviews.19, 20

 Promote development of novel and engaging cognitive training applications and rigorously assess

evidence of long-term cognitive improvements that impact daily functioning. This research may

be facilitated through the development and use of interventions that target a specific neural

system/functional domain, making it easier to assess change. Augmenting existing technology

platforms that are already accepted among older adults may lead to improved adherence.

Research programs with more training and longer follow-up timeframes are also needed.

 Foster and improve evidence and research on cognitive training programs wherein training related

to a particular cognitive domain, such as memory or information processing/speed, is readily

generalizable to real-world situations and needs. Encourage research that addresses actual needs

in terms of cognitive training, ideally tailored to individual needs and situations.

 

19 https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/topics/cognitive-decline/research-2017

20 https://www.nap.edu/catalog/21693/cognitive-aging-progress-in-understanding-and-opportunities-foraction
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Provide Cognitive Rehabilitation. When individuals begin to experience age-related cognitive decline,

technology may be able to mitigate the changes. Remote interventions may provide advantages over

traditional in-person visits, which may not be feasible in certain circumstances. With the increased use

of mobile devices, wearable sensors, and novel human-computer interfaces, new possibilities are

emerging to expand the cognitive tele-rehabilitation paradigm. In the past, cognitive rehabilitation

would have required office visits with unmonitored assignments between visits.

 Determine the efficacy of available training for individuals with impaired cognition. Current

evidence remains limited because studies have often been underpowered, short in duration, or

lacking a standard, baseline assessment.

 Explore design opportunities and considerations when applying emergent pervasive computing

technologies to cognitive tele-rehabilitation.

 Develop an iterative process for use with rehabilitation clinicians that can take into account a

patient’s changing recovery trajectory.

 Develop and validate baseline measures and tools through which the effectiveness of

interventions can be assessed.

Financial Security

Enable Independent Financial Management and Prevent Exploitation. It is important to enhance or

extend independent financial management by older adults, including those experiencing early

cognitive changes. Many of the financial self-assessment tools on the market, ranging from books and

websites to financial planners and downloadable apps, are geared toward a younger population. Scant

work has been geared toward elderly populations and their specific needs forfinancial assessment. The

increasing sophistication, rapid changes, and frequent use of technological systems create an

environment in which older adults may be taken advantage of.

 Develop or adapt existing technologicaltools to assist in simplifying the financial decision-making

process for older adults as they address the burdens of managing expenses and life-changing

choices.

 Examine the impact of the increased availability of financial health measures through technology

or the internet and how these might affect decision making after learning one’s score, including

how well a product works for a targeted population and for specific purposes.

 Utilize technology to ensure that all adults have exposure to financial literacy training as part of

their financial interactions in order to provide them with a more solid foundation on which to base

decisions and help them to plan for the future.

 Adapt interfaces for online banking and automated teller machines to support older adults.

 Regularly and publicly evaluate existing financial monitoring techniques for efficacy, feasibility,

and acceptability, including methods employing: third-party, read-only access to accounts; fraud

detection and notification; aggregated account monitoring for indicators of financial exploitation;

and anomalous transaction alerts.

 Assess the efficacy of both existing and developing technologies for identification, such as

wearables, biometrics, and geolocation, to prevent elder financial exploitation.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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Identify Older Adults with Reduced Financial Capacity. It is important to effectively and efficiently

identify individuals who may be at greatest risk of financial exploitation, with an appropriate plan for

responding to these risks that match with a person’s individual goals.

 Convert existing tools for assessing financial capacity into electronic formats to allow wider use.

For example, the Financial Capacity Instrument is a standardized psychometric instrument

designed to assess financial activities and abilities relevant to community-dwelling adults. 21

However, it requires training to administer the instrument and interpret the results. Technology

might reduce the need for training and make it more widely available.

 Advance understanding of the relationships between existing measurements of financial

functioning and assessments of other types of functioning, such as computer use, driving, cell

phone use, and mobility, to determine how non-financial deficits may predict declines in financial

capacity.

 Improve prediction of risk on an individual basis to increase the benefit from interventions

regarding finances.

IV. Communication and Social Connectivity

Communication between older members of society involves three separate factors: the physiological

ability to communicate (hear, speak, see, and touch); the ability to understand one another (language

and cultural differences); and the technological ability to communicate across distances for social and

professional interactions. This third aspectincludes relatively close-proximity communication (face-toface) that can be addressed with hearing devices, as well as long-distance communication that can be

enhanced by information and communication technologies (e.g., internet applications and social

media). All three factors are integral to maintaining social connectivity among the aging population.

(An additional area of communication that impacts the health and independence of the aging

population is telehealth, discussed in Section VII, Access to Healthcare.)

Hearing

Communication challenges forthe aging population may be due to hearing loss resulting from an injury

or illness or simply as a result of the aging process. Advances in hearing assistance technologies can

dramatically improve the quality of life experienced by older adults. However, much needs to be done

to make these technologies more accessible through simplified operation, improved performance, and

reduced cost. What is promising, however, is that the baby boom generation is comfortable with

technological advances and is much more inclined to embrace their benefits.

Provide Effective Hearing Assistance. The ability to hear is key to the ability to communicate for most

people. Technology can provide assistance when natural hearing has deteriorated. Devices are needed

to help hearing impaired individuals understand speech in noisy environments. Current hearingassistive devices are generally designed for one-on-one conversations at close distances and are less

effective outside of these specifications. Recommendations for R&D to address the need for effective

hearing assistance include the following:

 Develop systems that include the ability to share audio channels between hearing aids,

smartphones, remote microphones, and other consumer electronic devices through a nonproprietary, wireless link with the short latency needed to understand speech.

 

21 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712121/
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 Develop open protocols for wireless communication of the audio input of hearing aids with other

systems, including smartphones, microphones, and other wearable electronics. These protocols

are needed to expand the ability of hearing aid users to utilize other common technologies.

 Advance the technology used to collect and process sound, as well as the computational power of

assistive devices, to improve performance in noisy environments, noise-source identification and

cancellation, speech localization and recognition, and auditory (or visual closed-caption)

reconstruction.

 Identify and advance necessary technologies to enhance the computational power of hearing

assistive systems so they could take advantage of existing orfuture smart systems to improve their

functionality. More computational power would also increase the ability for hearables to interface

with other smart systems that could offer enhanced features, such as reminders of forgotten

names via face recognition, health alerts synced to fitness monitors and smart watches, and

navigational information from Global Positioning System (GPS) applications.

 Develop appropriate policies, requirements, and technologies for the sale of over-the-counter

hearing aids.

22

Expand Acceptance and Implementation of Hearing Assistance. The willingness of individuals to

accept their need for assistance with hearing, and even more importantly their willingness to obtain a

professional assessment of their hearing, is the first step to obtaining an assistive device.

 Develop the ability to check hearing levels using automated hearing tests online or through

common smart devices. This advancement will make initial assessment of hearing loss

inexpensive, discrete, and convenient and should increase the rate of assessment among

individuals.

 Develop enhanced hearing loss simulation programs that allow hearing-impaired individuals to

replicate their hearing loss to demonstrate to family members and friends the impact hearing loss

has on the ability to understand whatis said. Programs should permitthe individuals to inputtheir

speech into the program and modify the listening situation to simulate restaurant noise, small and

large groups, etc., to demonstrate how a specific hearing loss degrades speech clarity in various

communication environments.

 Develop standard, open remote protocols that can be used to adjust and tune hearing assistive

devices. Currently, hearing aid adjustments are proprietary to each manufacturer. This

requirementlimits choices forindividuals seeking service ortuning oftheir hearing aids, especially

in rural areas. Standard and open protocols that read and set fitting and operational parameters

for hearing aids would allow hearing professionals to access the settings of an aid purchased from

another vendor, enable telehealth applications to provide professional assistance to users in

remote areas, and allow users to self-fit and self-adjust their devices.

 Conduct research into policies and standards in order to make hearing devices more easily and

affordably accessible, especially in areas underserved by audiologists.

 

22 https://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/productsandmedicalprocedures/homehealthandconsumer/consumerp

roducts/hearingaids/default.htm
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Communication with Diverse Communities

Translate Conversations between Physicians and Patients. According to the 2016 American

Community Survey (ACS), 21% of U.S.residents speak a language other than English at home, including

many people born in the United States and 15% of those over the age of 65.23 It can be difficult for

patients to understand medical jargon, and this difficulty is exacerbated if they do not share a first

language with their healthcare providers.

There are multiple benefits that would come from developing technologies to assist in translating

conversations between physicians and patients. These were categorized by one technology developer

as: reduced costs; reduced administrative and staff burden; increased quality and accuracy; mobility;

and clinical applications—capturing the spirit and intent of the communication by recording the actual

communication and the interpreted/translated version.24 These same benefits could be realized for

aging Americans, their caregivers, and family members. Additionally, verbal or non-verbal

communication between providers and patients from diverse communities can lead to improved

rapport and empathy.

 Continue to improve and expand automated translation technology. Achieving nearly universal

automated translation is technically very challenging because there are between 6,000 and 7,000

languages and dialects, mostlanguages are not written, and every language is context dependent.

Advances in artificial intelligence have the potential to enable rapid, reliable, real-time translation

of one language into another, including idiomatic language patterns.

 Expand the ability to convert recorded audio (including in videos) into text. This capability has

been steadily improving, with the availability of many free software programs. However, more

research is needed to expand these abilities across many languages and idiomatic language

patterns, including transcribing into the source language and into an alternate language of the

listener. Such software could support aging individuals, theirfamilies, and healthcare providers by

providing them with written documentation of conversations, instructions, and written

communications in their primary languages.

Social Communication Technologies

Maintain Social Connections. Social isolation and loneliness among older adults are linked to

depressive symptoms, poor cognitive functioning, disrupted sleep, lack of physical activity, and

impaired mental health—all of which have implications for increased mortality.25

 Promote systematic research demonstrating the effectiveness of interventions, including online

social networks, to reduce social isolation and loneliness among seniors, as well as the

mechanisms by which the interventions exert effects.

 Develop technological solutions to minimize the risk of predatory social media campaigns.

 

23 https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_5YR_B16007&pr

odType=table

24 http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/5-benefits-healthcare-translation-technology

25 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4383762/
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 Promote collaboration between device manufacturers and the academic community to design

products that address the need for social connectedness in older adults, starting with the initial

design phase.

 Advance understanding of the technological needs of older adults with disabilities. This

understanding is imperative, because disabled older adults are generally less likely to use

communication technology.26

V. Personal Mobility

Mobility is a key factorin living independently.Mobility generally refers to all movement, including basic

ambulation, transferring from a bed to a chair, walking for leisure and the completion of daily tasks,

engaging in activities associated with work and play, exercising, driving a car, and using various forms

of public transport.27 Simply put, mobility allows people to get where they want to be, when they want

to be there, withoutimpediments, safely and reliably. As documented by theNationalHousehold Travel

Survey, older adults tend to become less mobile with age.

28

In order to truly live independently, an individual must have the ability to control his or her movement

(basic mobility), avoid slips and falls, and be able to move around the neighborhood and larger

community. Each of these requirements has its own challenges and, therefore, distinct sets of

technologies that hold promise to address these challenges. The needed technologies can be grouped

into three focus areas: assisted movement,rehabilitation, and monitoring and safety. Some ofthe focus

areas have been addressed within an experimental paradigm (e.g., robot navigation) but have not yet

been demonstrated in the community. Additional research is needed to fully assess user needs in this

area and develop the data analytics and software tools that will make technologies fully successful in

helping older adults achieve and maintain independence.

Assisted Movement

Provide Assistance with Navigating the Home and Neighborhood. When individuals experience either

physical or cognitive deficits, they are often unable to navigate their homes or local communities

without assistance. Assistance may focus on guidance or involve a surrogate system to move around

the home and conduct some basic activities, for example, picking up needed items located in another

room. Recommendations for R&D to provide assistance with navigation include the following:

 Design robots that are robust enough to require little maintenance or troubleshooting and that

have long battery life and are easy to recharge.

 Design accessible drop-off and pick-up stops for assistive mobility robots, including automated

vehicles and low-speed shuttles for mixed use within neighborhoods and communities.

 Develop affordable control systems, appropriate sensing, information processing, and decisionmaking algorithms to allow robots to negotiate the navigation environment of the home, such as

dynamic and static obstacles, uneven floors, stairs, varying lighting conditions, and door

thresholds.

 Develop smart robotic technologies that not only respond to an individual’s needs but also can

learn and modify a robot’s behavior based upon the owner’s requirements and usual habits.

 

26 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/07/disabled-americans-are-less-likely-to-use-technology/

27 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3464831/

28 https://nhts.ornl.gov/
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Mechanically Compensate for Reduced Strength and Mobility. Individuals with reduced

musculoskeletal function often require assistance with balance and/or range of motion. Current

research on technological solutions, including exoskeletons, is primarily occurring in clinical

rehabilitation centers involving individuals with paralysis and their caretakers. Real-world

environments often involve everyday tasks that are challenging and have the potential to be unsafe.

 Develop assistive mobility technologies forless supervised environments and tasks, like traversing

up or down a street curb, walking on uneven terrain (e.g.,ramps, stairs), or walking up to a counter

to grab an object.

 Address control, comfort, and safety-related functionalities in wearable mobility systems, such as

exoskeletons, and incorporate hybrid features that allow control to transition between the

exoskeleton and the user.

 Advance science and engineering focused on employing a brain-computerinterface for controlling

exoskeletons.

 Develop algorithms for activity recognition and indoor location detection that are suitably reliable

and accurate enough for real-world use.

Rehabilitation

Enable In-Home Rehabilitation. Current rehabilitation programs require older adults to go to clinical

facilities, which limits who can attend and for how much time they will receive therapy. To minimize

cost, maximize access, and maximize the amount of time that can be spent pursuing rehabilitation

activities, systems enabling in-home therapy are needed.

 Explore the role of virtual reality and gaming systems for improving functional independence

among older adults. There is evidence that virtual reality can be used by older adults at home to

improve their gait following a stroke.

29 It has been proposed that virtual reality and gaming

systems may enhance physical activity and improve health, but evidence for success is weak.

30 The

impact of such systems warrants further research, including into how to use these systems with

older adults more effectively.

 Design and develop affordable rehabilitation devices to promote intensive practice of a gait-like

movement pattern for older individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions.

 Examine the use of smart-home technologies forrehabilitation purposes, including monitoring for

improvement or prevention of functional decline.

Monitoring and Safety

Monitor Movement and Activity. Changes in activity are an indication of individual well-being.

Measures of movement and activity can indicate both acute and gradual changes in well-being.

 Improve the reliability and usability—including battery life and comfort—of sensor systems and

algorithms that focus on either activity- and fall-recognition or indoor location detection in order

to support deployment in the real world. Systems need to be more usable so that they can be

effectively deployed for extended use to assess possible declines in individuals and enable early

interventions.

 

29 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23614694

30 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24351549
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 Promote research efforts and examination of systems to dynamically assess sit-to-stand transfers.

Parameters need to be collected to determine normalranges and cut-off values fortime to transfer

as well as body movements during the transfer that cannot be reliably recorded manually.

 Develop algorithms that fuse and combine data from multiple movement and activity sensing

systems to provide increased accuracy for the assessment of individual well-being. These may

include the application of artificial intelligence and should provide useful information to users,

healthcare providers, and caregivers, as appropriate.

Prevent Falls. Falls result in significant morbidity and mortality among the aging population, so their

prevention is key to maintaining independence. Systems are needed that can train individuals to

minimize fall risk and assess those most at risk for falls.

 Develop technology-based strategies, especially forin-home use, forfall prevention training.Older

adults can be trained to rapidly adjust their behavior to prevent a fall in experimental settings,31

but these strategies should be adapted for the home setting.

 Determine the key parameters for assessment of fall risk as they relate to the cognitive aspects of

fall prevention, particularly measurement ofreaction time as a means to determine an individual’s

ability to correct a loss of balance and prevent a fall.

 Develop technologies to measure the reaction time of individuals during instances where they lose

their balance, must recognize the perturbation, and must correct it before falling.

 Promote the use of larger trials on the use of existing technologies, including accelerometers, to

investigate reaction time as a measurement for fall risk, and include both a healthy aging

population and those with other progressive conditions that could increase fall risk, such as

dementia. These tools have the potential to become standards for measurement of cognitive

decline and slowed processing that could be used both to preventfalls and to assistin determining

when someone needs a higher level of assistance or care.

VI. Transportation

Movement around and beyond the community is key for individuals to be able to access social, health,

and business facilities. As each person is unique, so too is his or her ability to live independently, along

with the resultanttransportation needs and limits associated with each person’s physical and cognitive

abilities. Some older adults are completely independent and continue to drive without assistance,

while others may be able to drive butrequire vehicle modifications and/or some advanced technologies

to assist them. Other older adults have transitioned away from driving altogether, sometimes due to

age-related disabilities, and rely fully on public transportation and a variety of other transportation

services. Finally, there are older adults who also rely on services and technologies, not only for

transportation, but for basic day-to-day mobility as well.32

For the purpose of this document, the broader community area was defined as being greater than one

mile from the home. Technologies to support transportation may vary depending on the distance of

travel planned. Movement around the broader community can be via private vehicle (driving) or public

transportation—the two focus areas for this capability topic. (Similar technologies are also needed to

assist with long-distance air and rail travel.)

 

31 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5335723/

32 https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/31320
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Driving

Assess Driving Fitness and Help Drivers Maintain their Driving Fitness. As drivers’ cognitive and

physical abilities change with age, driving skills need to be evaluated. If a driver’s physical or cognitive

abilities have declined, it is possible to develop systems that could allow that individual to continue to

drive independently and safely. Technological systems that can supplement or replace physical or

cognitive actions by the driver would extend the ability of individuals to drive following chronic or acute

reductions in ability. Current best practice is to use some form of testing (most often vision) at license

renewal periods, leaving long periods of unassessed driving skills and different rules in different States.

Current adaptations are based on drivers’ resources, meaning that those with resources will be better

able to extend their driving time. Recommendations for R&D to address driver fitness and help drivers

maintain their driving fitness include the following:

 Determine what measurable factors best assess driving fitness in order to develop tools that can

support both self-assessment and professional assessment of fitness for driving, including

measuring cognitive ability and demand related to human factors and situational awareness.

 Develop tools that can accurately and objectively measure these factors of fitness and provide the

results of an assessment to the driver or a professional on whether the individual is likely to be fit

to drive or may need assistance.

 Design a real-time link between self-assessment and access to the vehicle, such that individuals

who should not be driving without assistive technology will not do so. This link would apply to

drivers with a drop in cognitive function as well as those with a reduction in physical fitness (e.g.,

vision, muscle strength, range of motion).

 Develop assistive technology that can be easily adjusted to account for changes in

musculoskeletal factors that affect fitness to drive. Such technology would extend an individual’s

ability to drive without requiring substantial time or monetary resources to implement new

assistive systems as physical abilities change.

 Continue to advance the development of automated vehicles, which will provide broader access

to private vehicles for the aging population.

 Continue to enhance advanced safety and driver assistance systems to improve road safety and

reduce crash incidence in general. Research is needed to determine the level of inherent fitness

that must be demonstrated by individuals even with the availability of these systems.

 Encourage the development of future training systems that allow aging drivers to practice driving

with “unexpected” scenarios and thereby develop or reinforce confidence in driving ability. (Lack

of confidence can result in a greater chance of driver error due to indecisiveness.)

 Develop systems to allow individuals with mobility impairments to independently access their

vehicles and easily store wheelchairs (manual or power) or scooters inside their vehicles, thereby

improving their transportation independence.

Public Transportation

Public transportation may involve any combination of personalized and mass transit systems, including

taxis, ride sharing, shuttles, buses, ferries, and trains. The availability of each of these systems varies

significantly from community to community. This document does not address the general availability

of public transportation options, which is a primary user need. It focuses instead on the needs of

individuals for assistance with navigation, scheduling, and access, assuming that public transportation

is available.
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Assist with Navigation and Scheduling. Planned navigation of a route and real-time scheduling

information, along with the ability to adapt to changes in traffic or schedule information, are some of

the key factors that support ease of use of public transportation. Current technologies that can address

these needs are not generally designed to take into account the specific needs of older adults.

 Implement pre-trip wayfinding and navigation systems that connect a planned route (within

wearable devices and smart displays) to real-time information that enables independent travel

and mobility, including systems that help plan accessible routes,remind users abouttheir planned

trips, and provide reminders about what to bring, when to leave, etc., for the entire trip. These

technologies are available but are not fully designed or deployed to meet such needs.

 Enhance wayfinding and navigation systems to include electronic orientation aids that can

determine an individual’s location and plot the most suitable route to the destination.

Improvement of dynamic maps and real-time navigation guidance can include a variety of

technologies, including robotics, crowdsourcing, advanced path planning, and multi-modal

interfaces. While some of these systems were developed specifically for people with visual

disabilities, the technology could be refined to meet the needs of the older adult population—in

particular those with cognitive deficits.

 Enhance the accuracy of map and infrastructure information for built and pedestrian

environments to include information within wayfinding tools, such as the location of stairs and

elevators, grade of ramp, and surface roughness. Industry has taken on the challenge of

developing accurate maps, but research is needed into how to best bridge the gaps in information

obtained from various databases. Common policies are needed regarding the types of

infrastructure information that is encoded into these maps (e.g., elevators, curb cuts) so that

scalable applications can be developed rather than relying on regional solutions.

 Develop wayfinding and navigation apps that can predict, rather than react to, changes in the

environment in order to provide more independence and a sense of security to users. Research is

required into how to provide this forward-looking, socially aware guidance. In addition, systems

that can notify an individual if he or she is about to make a wrong decision, such as getting on the

wrong bus or train, will significantly improve user confidence and independence.

 Develop both robust and accessible interfaces and training methods for smart phone navigation

applications. While smartphone apps do exist to support wayfinding on public transportation,

many aging individuals m not comfortable using this technology or interfacing with the system.

Systems must support individuals with reduced visual acuity or manual dexterity and need to be

developed using “universal design” and inclusive information and communication technologies.

 Develop technological tools that can inform family members and caregivers if the rider makes a

mistake in navigation. These tools would reduce individual and family stress levels and improve

individual safety, especially among individuals with diminished cognitive function.

Facilitate Access to Public Transportation.Once a route is planned,the ability to actually access public

transportation without significant delays or extended transit times is important.

 Develop systems that can quickly and safely secure wheelchairs (manual and power), scooters,

and other assistive devices (e.g., oxygen cans) within all public transportation systems, ideally

without requiring the transfer of the passenger. Encourage systems to be designed to address the

needs of individuals with disabilities, including safe securement and restraint systems. These are

needed to facilitate the use of public transportation by users of personal mobility systems without

adversely affecting system efficiency. Current systems to secure wheelchairs on public buses and
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trains often require time that can disrupt the planned schedule for the bus or train. In addition,

charging stations for powered wheelchairs or scooters that are integrated into transit vehicles

would greatly expand the distance that could be traveled or the time that can be spent away from

a home base.

 Implement architectural design standards that meaningfully consider how persons using assistive

mobility devices navigate through public transportation stations.

 Enhance wayfinding and navigation apps to access real-time updates on public transportation

infrastructure, including the status of elevators or vehicle lifts/ramps. Planning forthese variations

in routes is important to all travelers, including those with disabilities, and for all surface

transportation needs. Real-time updates on public transit infrastructure are important to all

travelers on all types of trips to all destinations.

 Develop remote or robotic assistance strategies to reduce wait times and maximize the efficiency

of staff, such as distance-based control of gates, elevators on request, and moveable robotic

ramps/lifts for train access at stations.

 Develop shared neighborhood automated vehicle networks that can provide access to

personalized transportation for all individuals, at alltimes, and to all destinations. Smaller vehicles

may also prove to be a key strategy in addressing first-last mile challenges. Such vehicles would

need to be usable without a driver’s license and accessible by individuals with wheelchairs or

scooters in order to be usable by the broad community as a connection to public transportation.

Novel vehicle designs and technology developments are necessary to meetthe expanded needs of

the aging population.

 Develop technology and policies, including pertaining to privacy issues, to support machinereadable personal profiles for travel support and human services in transportation, as well as to

identify the appropriate services that meetthe user’s needs. For example, providing data to transit

companies regarding the ability and needs of an individual (e.g., type of personal mobility system,

ability to transfer, and description of assistance needed) would allow appropriate assistive

technologies or staff support to be available at the appointed time. Such personalization will

reduce wasted time, improve the efficiency of scheduling, and positively impact quality of life.

VII. Access to Healthcare

Access to effective healthcare plays a critical role in helping older adults stay active and independent

as they age. Currently many older adults, the majority of whom have multiple chronic conditions,

receive suboptimal, fragmented, uncoordinated and, at times, contradictory or harmful care from

multiple providers in multiple care settings.

Many different individuals have important roles to play with respect to the application of activities and

strategies that support the maintenance of function and independence with age. Participants in this

care system include: patients/clients; their families, caregivers, and communities; clinicians; social

services and support systems; and community services. Alignment and coordination among these

participants through technology can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of these services. In a

digital healthcare system, telehealth and electronic care (eCare) planning—the focus areas discussed

below—can enable older adults to maintain their independence by increasing access to effective care,

coordinating this care, providing supportfor prevention and chronic disease management, and helping

to reduce the stress on older adults, their caregivers, and clinicians.
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Telehealth

Telehealth is defined as a collection of means or methods for delivering and enhancing healthcare,

public health, and health education delivery and support using telecommunications technologies,

regardless of the capabilities or locations of care recipients.33 Synchronous telehealth (occurring in real

time) or asynchronous telehealth may include: (1) clinical video telehealth (two-way, real-time,

synchronous interactions between patients, caregivers, or providers using audiovisual

telecommunications technology); (2) secure messaging in the collection and transmission of health

information to monitor or manage chronic conditions; and (3) care management using telehealth, such

as targeted text messages or apps that help patients with reminders to adhere to specific care

regimens.34 Telehealth can deliver services to patients feasibly, safely, and in a way in which both

patients and healthcare workers are satisfied with those services, and is already a priority of the Trump

Administration to expand access to care for Veterans.

35

Improve Healthcare Access and Quality. To access comprehensive and appropriate healthcare, it is

importantthat older adults can receive primary care, specialty care, and community services regardless

oftheir physical mobility orlocation. This need includes providing access to care forrural, underserved,

and at-risk individuals and communities, including Veterans. In addition, older adults who cannot easily

travel need to be able to communicate with their healthcare providers. The use of telehealth can

improve outcomes such as mortality, quality of life, and resource utilization for several chronic

conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Recommendations for R&D to improve

healthcare access include the following:

 Develop, implement, and evaluate scalable and sustainable telehealth programs.

 Develop innovative telehealth technologies that incorporate the use of smartphones, sensor

technology, and faster internet to expand the range and functionality of telehealth services.

 Evaluate the impact of different telehealth applications and models of delivery on patients,

families, and clinical teams, including: outcomes related to time, costs, and healthcare utilization;

the quality of communication and care; and health outcomes.

 Conduct rigorous studies to determine what types of telehealth are most effective in different

settings and for what conditions, and how and when telehealth can be incorporated into provider

workflow and the lives of patients in ways that promote quality of life and improved health

outcomes.

Promote Smoother Care Transitions. The use of telehealth makes it possible to monitor older adults

when making transitions between care settings, such as going home from the hospital. Without such

monitoring, many older adults are atrisk of being readmitted. Telehealth can be used to identify critical

issues, including changes in mental status, weight, or blood pressure, thereby facilitating intervention

and treatment to prevent hospital readmission. Many older adults are transferred to nursing homes for

heightened monitoring to ensure their safety. Telehealth potentially offers an alternative, so that they

can safely remain in their homes and communities.

 

33 https://www.cchpca.org/about/about-telehealth

34 https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/telehealth_technical-brief.pdf

35 https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-secretary-shulkin-announce-veteran-telehealthinitiatives/
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 Create and evaluate different payment models to promote reimbursement for innovations in

telehealth to increase its adoption, efficacy, scalability, reach, and efficacy.

 Advance interoperability standards and information technology (IT) infrastructure to integrate

telehealth services with other digital sources of health information technologies, including

electronic health record systems, as an integral part of the health data/information

sharing/communications health IT infrastructure.

Provide Self-Management Support. Telehealth can provide effective self-management support 36—

assisting people with chronic conditions to manage their health, including helping them to become

more informed abouttheir conditions and assume a more active role in theirtreatment. Telehealth also

provides new ways for patients to participate in their own healthcare by helping them record, measure,

monitor, and manage their conditions, and remotely share information, communicate, and collaborate

with providers.

 Develop user-friendly, self-management support applications that enable patients to focus on

priorities and achieve goals of care.

 Integrate self-management support applications with other technologies that enhance chronic

disease management, including those for remote patient monitoring and medication adherence.

 Evaluate the impact of different approaches to self-management support on patients, families,

and clinical teams, including: outcomes related to time, costs, and healthcare utilization; the

quality of communication and care; and health outcomes.

eCare Planning

Information technology is an important component of care planning that supports care coordination,

communication, and collaboration among members ofthe healthcare team—older adults,families, and

providers—to address the full spectrum of a patient’s needs across all settings and overtime.Care plans

provide support to older adults and their caregivers related to accessing information and community

resources as well as making connections to formal and informal support services.37 eCare plans could

improve and enhance care planning activities and communication, leading to better outcomes and

fewer adverse events. Well-designed eCare plans support patient-centered and coordinated care for

older adults. They are developed in conjunction with patients and families, are based on the patient’s

goals and preferences, and optimize autonomy and well-being. Additionally, eCare plans are

individualized, are based on comprehensive assessments, are dynamic, and integrate information

about multiple factors, including health needs, family and social history, home environment, values,

goals, and preferences.

Improve Coordination of Care. Older adults with multiple chronic conditions and complex health

needs require support from a variety of providers and services in order to optimize their health and

functional status and to prevent or slow decline. However, in the absence of overall care coordination,

these services may be lacking, redundant, ineffective, or potentially harmful. In addition, resulting

health outcomes may be less than ideal, while costs escalate. Therefore, there is a need to implement

robust care coordination across settings and disciplines to deliver care that is integrated and truly

patient-centered.

 

36 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379320/

37 https://pcmh.ahrq.gov/page/coordinating-care-adults-complex-care-needs-patient-centered-medical-homechallenges-and-0
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 Conduct and publish a systematic review and evaluation of existing eCare planning models to

understand successes, lessons learned, and challenges.

 Support implementation and evaluation of comprehensive, shared eCare plans using health IT

that are aimed at maintaining and improving the functional status of older adults living in the

community.

Facilitate Shared Care Planning. As the capabilities of health IT tools increase and a nationwide

infrastructure for electronically sharing health information grows, patients and stakeholders across the

care continuum are converging around a vision where a single eCare plan can be created, dynamically

updated, and utilized in a secure and appropriate fashion by patients, caregivers, and any member of

the patient’s virtual, interdisciplinary care team.

 Support research on the development, testing, and implementation of health IT solutions to

optimize communication and foster continuity of care through eCare plans.

 Encourage plans that are developed by patients in conjunction with their primary care providers

(who serve a key role in coordinating and integrating care across settings) and that are appropriate

for community-dwelling older adults. Such plans will enhance providers’ capacity to deliver care

aligned with a person’s goals and preferences.

 Develop tools that optimize communication and foster continuity of care through eCare plans as

older adult’s transition between settings, including primary care, specialty care, acute care, postacute care, and home care.

 Encourage the development and adoption of health IT certification standards and platforms for

the accessibility and exchangeability of eCare plans. Emerging technologies for application

programming interfaces for remote-monitoring devices may help accelerate implementation.

ProactivelyPlan Care for Complex,High-Risk Patients. Care planning promotes a focus on the patient,

improves outcomes, and reduces the costs of care. Ideally, an eCare plan should ensure easy access by

patients, their families, and providers alike, using a standard shared care plan format. Care

coordinators (or other appropriate personnel) conduct assessments and work with the patient to

identify goals, preferences, gaps in care, unmet behavioral health needs, and other social or community

needs, such as safe housing, caregiver support, access to and availability of healthy foods, and

transportation. Care plans must be systematically re-evaluated and adjusted to assure patients’ needs

are being met, especially as their needs or circumstances change or progress.

 Support research that identifies social and other contextual and human factors that influence

design along with end-users’ acceptance, use of, and adoption of eCare plans among care teams

for complex, high-risk patients.

 Partner with diverse stakeholders across the health and social care system, including clinical

leaders, professional groups, and workforce educators, to better prepare members of the health

and social care system to adoptteam-based models of care and spearhead adoption of IT-enabled

shared care planning tools for complex, high-need patients.
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VIII. Cross-Cutting Themes

This section contains cross-cutting needs and challenges identified during the consideration of the six

functional capabilities discussed above. Not every need or challenge applies to every capability; rather,

these are needs that may be associated with a number of possible technology solutions that are not

necessarily specific to individual R&D recommendations. Some represent opportunities for leaps in

innovation, and thus may be R&D priorities in their own right. Others may just represent technology

issues that should be considered during other efforts. Although some sections are more detailed than

others, the level of detail is not intended to convey relative importance. Note that many of the issues

highlighted in this section, notably those related to health IT, open data, connectivity, and cybersecurity,

are Trump Administration priorities.

38,39,40

System Needs

Many of the priorities identified will rely on traditional system implementation requirements, such as

communication and network infrastructure as well as GPS connectivity. These systems also include

general-purpose platforms used in technology implementation, such as computers,tablets, and mobile

phones. Some research needs might also include “custom” infrastructure, such as the instrumentation

of a physical location (e.g., a “Smart Home”) and technology to support connected devices (e.g., the

Internet of Things, or IoT).

Many focus areas require systems to transmit and exchange information, varying by application, which

generally include the following design parameters:

 Timeliness of information needed.

 Inclusion of alarms/notifications (high importance, low bandwidth).

 Need to transmit data.

 Need to “store and forward” (acquire and store locally, transmit when needed).

 Ability to implement “live interactive devices” (video over phone or internet).

 Maintenance of data quality/integrity.

 Management of data volumes ranging from low data rates (e.g., wearables, transactional) to high

data rates (e.g., video, telehealth).

 Remote control (for use in closed loop applications or to remotely set parameters).

The following are additional challenges and needs for these IT systems:

 A need to improve day-to-day system dependability, including availability, reliability,

maintainability, and maintenance support.

 The lack of system availability at various times or locations due to cellular telephone coverage,

GPS signal visibility, power outages, etc. Inconsistent broadband coverage in existing urban

buildings and remote areas often prevents universal rollout of these technologies.

 

38 https://www.performance.gov/PMA/Presidents_Management_Agenda.pdf

39 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-executive-order-streamlining-expeditingrequests-locate-broadband-facilities-rural-america/

40 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-executive-order-strengthening-cybersecurityfederal-networks-critical-infrastructure/
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 System resiliency in emergency or disaster situations when power or services are significantly

impacted.Offering alternate functionality orleveraging alternative infrastructure orresources can

ameliorate this risk.

 Improved cybersecurity considerations for connected devices.

 Additional wireless spectrum for IoT-connected devices.

 Support for use in smart homes and the broader environment. Smart home technology is still

relatively immature, but improvements in system integration, sensor deployment, and data

algorithms should enhance the ability of connected environments to address issues such as

disability prediction and health-related quality of life (e.g., fall prevention).

 Methods to verify personal identity using technology, such as using wearable technology,

biometrics, and geolocation.

User Adoption

Universal design—inherently accessible to people regardless of age or disability—including user

centered design, is critical for older adults who may be impacted by a range of factors, including: agerelated changes in vision, hearing, or memory; psychosocial factors, such as fatigue, distress, or native

or primary languages other than English; and extrinsic factors, such as ambient noise, inadequate

lighting, or socioeconomic factors. Development of usability standards and the application of these

standards to the design of technology for older adults, even under circumstances of diminished

functional capacity, will provide efficient and effective support. Increased research efforts are necessary to determine the optimal accessibility and usability guidelines to support older adults using IT.

Monitoring technology is particularly appealing for enhancing safety, but implementation should be

user friendly, interactions must be kept simple, and it must be as invisible as possible. More invasive

monitoring, such as video monitoring, must address ethical considerations and the threatto autonomy,

and it is recommended that algorithms balance intrusiveness and usefulness.

Specialized training and support can help overcome resistance to adopting new technologies, and

combining technology with human interaction provides a more effective educational method

compared to videos or phone tutorials alone. Continual learning and adjustment to technological

services and updates, however, can also be a barrier to using rapidly changing technology. New

technology should be able to leverage existing platforms that older adults are already familiar with in

order to ease the transition.

Adoption of technology by older adults is also driven by value and affordability, accessibility,

independence, and confidence. Listed below are some factors important to user adoption:

 To maximize the probability that the user will find interacting with the technology useful, the

design ofthe technology should include adequate assessment of user needs, usability analysis and

studies, and design methodology that focuses on the appropriate user base. This assessment

should include needs-finding through interactions with older adults from a range of

socioeconomic backgrounds, caregivers, and clinicians (including geriatricians), recognizing that

users will have a range of different attitudes towards and experiences with technology.

 Usability studies have traditionally been qualitative; however, studies should use a quantitative

approach and theoretical framework to explain the main determinants of adoption and usage

behaviors.
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 Use of universal design principles is key, including gathering requirements from the appropriate

user groups and the development of a single interface for all functions, rather than separate

devices or interfaces.

 “Zero-effort technologies” thatrequire little or no effort from the user will limit the opportunity for

user error. Designers and engineers should place the burden on advanced computational

techniques to interpret data and be responsive to user needs.

 For wearable sensors, design input should include an assessment of the appropriate sensor size

and the need for compatibility with human tissue, especially for systems to be used over an

extended period of time. When possible, truly non-invasive solutions should be sought. It must

also be recognized that wearing the sensors should be comfortable, and garments should be

durable to survive multiple washings.

 When considering user adoption, “user” should also include clinicians and caregivers. The ease of

collecting volumes of data can lead to information overload. Users do not necessarily want more

data—they want meaningful data. It is important that data be rendered in a meaningful way and

that systems do not produce inaccurate results, especially false positives for emergency or

predictive situations. (Some of the challenges related to linking raw data to meaningful measures

are also discussed in the Data and Algorithms section below.)

 Current Federal and industry standards focus on IT access rather than usability. To ensure

accessible and usable services, including interoperable medical devices, universal design

principles must be applied to information and communication technologies. Some standards for

accessibility for telecommunications services and web content have been outlined in the

Telecommunication Act Accessibility Guidelines (TAAG) 41 and the Web Content Accessibility

Guidelines (WCAG). 42 The TAAG and WCAG standards have as their express purpose to make

information and communication technology and internet websites more accessible to persons

with a disability. Therefore, IT designed to meet TAAG or WCAG standards will be more accessible

to older adults, including those with disabilities.

Functionality

Several identified R&D recommendations rely on specific methods or technologies, and improvements

in the current performance characteristics of these technologies are needed for broader deployment.

 Systems to detect fraudulent bank withdrawal patterns within financial institutions.

 Enhanced algorithms to automatically identify fraudulent emails, include phishing, swindles for

Medicare “refunds,” and offers of “free” medical supplies.

 Biometric recognition methods for transaction verification.

 Improved systems for accessibility and hands-free use of technology.

 

41 https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-thetelecommunications-act-guidelines/section-255-guidelines

42 https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag
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Privacy and Security

Privacy and security considerations are a key constraint for a majority of the R&D recommendations.

Two categories of privacy should be considered: (a) privacy of the individual; and (b) security and

privacy of the collected data. Technology solutions should aim to achieve the following goals:

 Balance the need for data with respect for individual privacy.

 Ensure HIPAA-compliant encryption and secure transmission for personal health information.

 Perform cybersecurity risk management and apply a systems-thinking approach to the overall

system design and implementation.

 Develop authentication systems for older adults using unobtrusive biometrics or other methods

to avoid data tampering.

 Address the security vulnerabilities associated with IoT devices, applications, and smart homes.

 Incorporate cybersecurity considerations into design, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework

and NIST Cybersecurity for Internet of Things Program.

43

Data and Algorithms

Many of the recommendations involve collection and analysis of data. Characteristics of the data, the

needs associated with the data, and the sensors used to detect, collect, transmit, and store the data

have a wide range of requirements associated with their use. Some needs are associated with the

sensor hardware itself, including the quality of the acquired data, the analysis of the data to produce

meaningful measures, and the infrastructure necessary to support all of the above.

The characteristics of the data collected depend on the intended use. Several types of data streams are

possible, each with different needs and requirements. Each may have different priorities, data rates,

and quality requirements.

 Event and episode detection and alerting systems, such as acute condition monitoring, generate

high-priority, low-bandwidth/data content.

 Continuous monitoring, such as chronic condition monitoring, generates mid- to lower-priority,

high-bandwidth content.

 Detection and presence monitoring, such as detecting the opening/closing of a door or sitting on

a chair, generates low-priority, low-bandwidth/data content.

 Variable data types, such as individual and repeated values, waveforms (2D), and images (3D), have

different needs related to data rates and quality.

While processing some types of data and data streams is straightforward, challenges do existfor several

applications where the relationships between the raw data and the outcome measures of interest are

not clearly established, including the following:

 Developing robust methods to fuse and process data.

 Validating the results that come out of the data.

 Establishing the usefulness of the outcome measures from the data (i.e., validating outcome

measures and demonstrating that the result is clinically meaningful).

 Creating replicable methods.

 

43 https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/CSWP/NIST.CSWP.04162018.pdf
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A variety of algorithms, deep learning, and computational techniques, often called artificial

intelligence, can be used to process raw data, such as activity recognition, context modeling, location

identification, planning, and anomaly detection. A goal is to use data from multiple sensors to

understand a situation (e.g., a nighttime bathroom visit) and detect clinically relevant problems based

on abnormal behaviors. While there is the potential to use sensor technology to help maintain

independence, appropriate validation of sensor-derived data will be necessary. Similarly, traditional

pen-and-paper assessments, such as cognitive tests for dementia, should not be simply ported to

computerized formats without appropriate validation that the new formats provide at least equivalent

results. The following are some other challenges for the use of data:

 Aggregating sensor information of different types—e.g., environmental, cognitive, physical, and

physiological—to define new types of information and outcome measures.

 Gathering large enough samples from those with disabilities to have datasets appropriate for the

analytics, especially recognizing the complexity of this analysis, in that there is more than one way

to perform an activity.

 Differentiating multiple users in instrumented homes.

 Considering the use of low-fidelity activity recognition from sensor data to balance privacy and

data collection.

 Ensuring data interoperability so that data from individual collections can be compared.

There are a number of common, required characteristics for analytic methods. Algorithms should be

reliable, valid, context aware, and learn with the user. In addition, data streams need to be reliable, lowcost, and more sensitive than current clinical assessments.

Evaluation

Evaluation is a key factor in developing and advancing any health technology. However, evaluation is a

complex issue, and assessment of one aspect of a technology—e.g., whether data is transmitted when

it is expected—is not the same as whether a project will positively affect health or be adopted in the

community. Therefore, multifaceted evaluation of technology targeted to older individuals is required,

and evaluation of emerging technologies should include the following steps:

 Comparing developed technologies to the user needs identified through the design process.

 Validating and gauging the reliability of developed technologies to ensure that the system is

functioning as intended and in a consistent manner.

 Determining the efficacy and effectiveness of technology in improving health outcomes and

assessing whether it can do so through large-scale studies.

 Assessing whether the developed technology meets regulatory standards.

Technology Safety and Performance Needs

Several common challenges have been reported that can impact user safety and system performance,

including hardware incompatibilities, unexpected operating system software upgrades, and the need

to occasionally reboot a computer. Many of these challenges can be mitigated through the use of open

standards, application programming interfaces, technology certifications, and consensus operational

guidelines. Other challenges that impact safety and performance include battery life limitations for

wearable devices and minimizing the absorption of electromagnetic energy by human tissues. The

advancement of energy-harvesting techniques in the future may address some of these challenges.
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Safety and security considerations are particularly important for the design and operation of robotic

assistive systems to ensure that end users are not harmed by system failures, such as interruptions of

power and/or communications.

While user centered design can help to ensure that users’ needs are met, designers of technology to

meet these research priorities must also consider safety principles and adopt robust product

development lifecycle processes to ensure that potential hazards are considered at the start of the

development process. Because many technologies willrely on existing infrastructure (e.g.,transmitting

data, accessing sensors, sending alarms), technology designers should assume that systems will at

times operate in a hostile environment and identify and mitigate risks related to their use in such an

environment from the start.

Family Caregiver Needs

An essential factorto an individual achieving functional independence is the role ofthe family caregiver.

On a daily basis, family caregivers—oftentimes a spouse, child, or other relative—may be called upon

to help manage and execute a diverse set of services, from complex medical care to activities of daily

living. A 2016 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine estimates that

there are at least 17.7 million individuals caring for someone aged 65 and older with an impairment.

44

By one estimate, the value of such care in 2013 totaled $470 billion.45 Given that by 2035 there will be 78

million individuals older than 65 (outnumbering those under 18 for the first time),

46 the number of

family caregivers and the demands on this group will only increase. Therefore, addressing the needs of

family caregivers and the role that technology can have in alleviating their stress are important areas of

exploration.

Caregiving, particularly family caregiving, is multidimensional—ranging from basic support for loved

ones needing help with meal preparation, transportation, and bill paying, to more complex services,

such as medication management and assisted decision making. The desire to provide optimal care to

their loved ones is ubiquitous to all family caregivers, regardless of the needs of their care recipients. In

doing so, family caregivers may rely on technology to fill gaps in their knowledge of care practices,

identify methods to decrease the burdens of caregiving, and learn how to execute more complex care

demands.

The 2016 report by the National Academies referenced above also discusses ways in which technology

can play a role in the practice of family caregiving and on the health of caregivers. The potential

methods by which caregivers can employ technology to help in their roles as caregivers include but are

not limited to the following broad areas:

 Education: Consulting internet resources to obtain information on care practices and seek social

support.

 Burden alleviation: Participating in technology-based interventions to reduce the emotional and

physical burden from caregiving.

 Remote caregiving: Monitoring care recipients remotely via videoconferencing and sensing

technologies.

 

44 http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2016/families-caring-for-an-aging-america.aspx

45 https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2015/valuing-the-invaluable-2015-update-new.pdf

46 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html
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In the coming years, the role of technology in helping family caregivers may shift to the growing area of

complex care support. A national survey of family caregivers in 2012 highlighted the increasing

frequency with which caregivers are providing complex care.

47 The list of complex care tasks rated by

family caregivers as difficult included managing medications, wound care, and the use of medical

equipment(e.g., dialysis machines). Common needs of caregivers identified in the reportinclude better

knowledge about how to properly execute care tasks and better communication with healthcare

professionals. Technology, in the form of mobile and web-based applications, online web resources,

and sensing/monitoring devices, may help to fill the knowledge gap often experienced by family

caregivers in these complex care situations.

Smart Homes

Some of the technology that will support independence among aging individuals has been considered

in the planning for smart homes. Smart homes are living spaces designed with sensor networks, motion

sensors, infrared cameras, and robots that provide interactive technologies and unobtrusive support

systems to enable people to enjoy a higher level of independence, activity, participation, or well-being.

Far from being part of a science fiction fantasy, today’s IoT makes the possibilities of a smart home

much more easily attainable. Smart homes can promote independent living and safety, and they can

potentially optimize quality of life and reduce the stress and burden on aged-care facilities as well as

on formal and informal caregivers.

Current technology allows smart homes to consolidate control of a broad range of systems, including

lighting, temperature, security, and entertainment, in easily accessible electronic formats that can be

operated through interactive touch commands or by voice. Future smart environments could sense

change, predict normal and abnormal behaviors and physiologic trajectories, and alert users and

caregivers to potentially dangerous behaviors or physiological changes. As individuals strive to

maintain their independence, there is a need for monitoring that can identify changes that may put

them at risk. Such monitoring could include changes in broader health markers that might suggest the

risk of cognitive decline. As examples, smart home technologies have been demonstrated that can

identify abnormalities in gait, 48 onset of infection,

49 and changes in cognitive functioning.50 Smart

communication technologies in the home have also been used to facilitate social connections,

51

relationships with healthcare providers, and tele-rehabilitation.52

Large-scale studies in smart homes are needed to assess the feasibility, validity, and reliability of

functional monitoring and to compare the effectiveness of various technologies. In addition, research

is needed to determine which parameters should be measured. Evaluation of optimal monitoring

strategies and timing, usability issues, and cost should all be performed. Importantly, users’

preferences should be explored to determine what they would like to know and with whom they wish

 

47 https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/public_policy_institute/health/home-alone-familycaregivers-providing-complex-chronic-care-rev-AARP-ppi-health.pdf

48 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25405437

49 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444411/

50 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29107052

51 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417513/

52 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7002971/
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT AN AGING POPULATION

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to share that information. Compatibility among different smart home platforms should be considered

to avoid overreliance on a particular vendor or solution.

For smart homes that are designed to monitor health or deliver treatments to older adults with chronic

health conditions, the technology needs to be applied in a real-time, accessible, effective, and

minimally obtrusive way. These are some examples of specific considerations for different areas of

pathology or behavior:

 Cardiovascular risk factors: Most research to date in this area relies either on self-reported data

(e.g., sedentary lifestyle) or measures evaluated infrequently when the research participant comes

to a clinic (e.g., blood pressure or walking speed). These approaches may not accurately reflectthe

person’s behavior/measures in the real world. Research on more real-world measures is needed.

 Sleep patterns: The interaction between sleep and aging is not well understood. It is unknown

whether treating sleep problems will result in improved cognition in humans, and the potential

impact may depend on both the nature and cause of the disordered sleep. Technology to aid in

monitoring sleep, including the sleep stage, in a person’s home may aid in understanding this

interaction.

 Social interactions: The optimal frequency and type of social interaction that supports

independence for older adults is not well understood. Research is needed in several areas,

including identifying which of the many software and platform options work best to facilitate

social interaction and for which people. A uniform solution is not likely to be appropriate because

of the numerous factors impacting older adults, including variations in vision, hearing, and range

of motion (e.g., due to arthritis).

In summary, smart homes should collect, integrate, process, analyze, communicate, and present data

so that individuals are engaged and empowered in their own healthcare with reduced burden to care

providers. Thus, research is needed to develop deployable smart home sensing packages tailored to

meet the needs of individuals that are safe, reliable, and effective. Finally, best practice guidelines

should be developed through public-private partnerships that are informed by the use of smart

technology in community testbeds across a diverse range of communities.