In-Home Monitoring

Tailored Interactive Video Exercise

PI: Misha Pavel
Funded by the Alzheimer's Association (ETAC)

Maintaining the health and functionality of the aging population is a major economic and social challenge. However, there is evidence that even simple exercises can improve quality of life and slow down both physical and cognitive decline. Unfortunately, the amount of time and effort required from a caregiver to incorporate exercise into an elder's daily care routine is quite large and difficult to achieve. This project will investigate the potential of user-tailored, interactive exercise techniques, and corresponding, affordable technology to support exercise programs in the elder's home. The system will connect to standard televisions to display an activity for the elder to follow and interact with in a game-like environment, either alone or in groups with others. The system would also monitor the elder's movements. It will be designed for both automated coaching and for enabling a family member or caregiver to simultaneously interact in the activity with the elder. The objective of the project is design a system to address the exercise and cognitive rehabilitation needs of a wide range of elders and investigate its applicability in a small pilot study with 10 elders.