Aging and Health Technology Watch

I admit that I am a bit of a nerd; I find survey data very interesting. It’s especially intriguing when it exposes trends that are both counterintuitive and actionable. So it is with two studies that I tackle the questions of senior and caregiver readiness to use home monitoring technology that can help seniors age in place and stay in their homes longer.

Builders have little interest in changing their home-design practices to accomodate seniors -- unless pressured by consumers who want their homes designed that way, of course.  In fact, in Florida, universal design standards are not part of the building code for new buildings, although contractors can be certified in it as well as becoming

I am trying to understand whether Nintendo intends to expand its cognitive fitness and exercise offerings into the senior market or whether its success is accidental.  Here is a response I received when querying Nintendo about their plans for targeting seniors: "Nintendo’s goal is to expand the world of video games to new audiences, so while we were not focusing on seniors exclusively, we wanted to make a system that could be played by everyone in the family, from 5 to 95.  It is exciting to see that it's been such a big hit in senior centers and think it's resonated with them for a number

I was surprised at an article in today's Times that offered no solutions to the problem it raised: that more men take the lead in caring for their elderly parents.  From the article: "The Alzheimer’s Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimate that men make up nearly 40 percent of family care providers now, up from 19 percent in a 1996 study by the Alzheimer’s Association.

So if you are a baby boomer and want to imagine your long-distance grandparenting experience (assuming it hasn't already begun), here's the scenario.

This article about taking seniors to a Christmas orchestra concert was a bit depressing. It made me think about all the seniors who can't get into or out of this or any other bus -- or who are unlikely to be asked to go to a concert. It especially reminded me of my late mother who had Alzheimer's and spent her last six years in a nursing home.

Juxtapose this.  1) There's a modest trend towards Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), which are

The home monitoring market for seniors is a potentially converging set of product vendors, some with medical interests and origins that may over time be marketed for use in advance of medical need -- these include HealthHero, Honeywell HomMed, Dovetail Health (even linking to nurse monitoring).

A market research firm, SharpBrains, which bills itself as "The Brain Fitness Authority," has posted a product evaluation checklist for determining whether a brain or cognitive fitness software product  is the 'right' product for you. By the way, SharpBrains estimates this software market was $225 million in 2007.