The future's bright, the future's talking Zimmers and robo-pets

Published on Monday 19 October 2009 21:57

WALKING frames that remind their users where they are going and coffee tables that act as home medicine dispensaries are just some of the technologies that could help cut down on care home bills and help older people live at home for longer, new research has suggested.

In the next 15 years, the number of over-65s in the UK is expected to increase by more than three million, and the number of dementia suffers is also predicted to rise.

A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Centre for Usable Home Technology at the University of York has recommended that to manage the pressure on services this rise will bring, councils could use various emerging technologies in order to provide at-home care.

In addition to such innovations as talking walking frames and dispensing coffee tables, the study suggests: the use of robo-pets that could offer companionship, and double up as fire, gas and intruder detectors; special exoskeleton suits that could be worn by the infirm to help them to keep mobile; and kitchen worktop and fridge screens to monitor larder contents, suggest recipes and produce automatic shopping lists.

Dr Kevin Doughty, of the JRF Centre for Usable Home Technology at the University of York, said councils are now faced with the challenge of planning to exploit emerging technologies.

He added: "Some of these might sound bizarre at the moment, but who would have thought 20 years ago that older people would today be using video games to exercise, and doing their shopping using a computer?"

The Department of Health said 75 million was spent on Telecare during the past year – a telephone-based system which allows elderly people to be monitored.

Many councils throughout the UK are providing Telecare support to users through remote monitoring, sensors and alarms. It is one of the topics which will be discussed at a conference involving local authorities and social services in Harrogate later this week.

Councillor David Rogers, the chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said investing in services could help delay the onset of major health problems and therefore the need for intensive care and support, as well as saving council taxpayers' money.

He added: "Futuristic Telecare technology could help make huge savings on care home bills and allow people to live independently for longer. It already provides extra support and peace of mind for relatives and carers."

A spokeswoman for Age Concern and Help the Aged in Scotland welcomed the report.

"Research into new ways of providing care at home for our growing numbers of older people is always warmly welcomed," she said.

"We know that older people want to stay in their own homes as long as they are able – these types of developments mean they can do so safely."