High-tech way to monitor elderly

HOUSTON, June 26 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they are designing affordable in-home health monitors for caregivers to monitor the elderly.

Four years ago, University of Houston researchers led by Driss Benhaddou began using off-the-shelf technology to develop a wireless health-monitoring system in conjunction with the Abramson Center for the Future of Health and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.

"The technology uses processor boards found in a variety of electronics, which cost only about $70 each. You could wire a whole home for about $1,000," Benhaddou said in a statement. "Our system will allow for such things as vital sign monitoring and location tracking using low-cost technologies and offering fast response times for caregivers."

Benhaddou said a patient whose movement is being monitored -- perhaps because of Alzheimer's or dementia -- can wear the quarter-size sensor on a belt or piece of clothing. A patient being monitored for vital signs -- such as temperature, heart beat and oxygen level -- needs to wear the sensor on his or her skin.

The body sensor communicates with sensors in various rooms and with a hub, which would be connected to the Internet and communicate with a caregiver's smartphone or hand held computer -- a personal digital assistant. Benhaddou said the system needs to be simple enough so caregivers can do the installations on their own.