Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Internet of things (IoT) applications for elderly care: a reflective review

  • Review
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Increasing in elderly population put extra pressure on healthcare systems globally in terms of operational costs and resources. To minimize this pressure and provide efficient healthcare services, the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable technology could be promising. These technologies have the potential to improve the quality of life of the elderly population while reducing strain on healthcare systems and minimizing their operational cost. Although IoT and wearable applications for elderly healthcare purposes were reviewed previously, there is a further need to summarize their current applications in this fast-developing area. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of IoT and wearable technologies’ applications including the types of data collected and the types of devices for elderly healthcare. This paper provides insights into existing areas of IoT/wearable applications while presenting new research opportunities in emerging areas of applications, such as robotic technology and integrated applications. The analysis in this paper could be useful to healthcare solution designers and developers in defining technology supported futuristic healthcare strategies to serve elderly people and increasing their quality of life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Azimi I, Rahmani AM, Liljeberg P et al (2017) Internet of things for remote elderly monitoring: a study from user-centered perspective. J Ambient Intell Humanized Comput 8:273–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-016-0387-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. He W, Goodkind D, Kowal PR (2016) International population reports. US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p95-16-1.pdf. Accessed 19 Sep 2019

  3. Nguyen HH, Mirza F, Naeem MA et al (2017) A review on IoT healthcare monitoring applications and a vision for transforming sensor data into real-time clinical feedback. In: IEEE 21st international conference on computer supported cooperative work in design (CSCWD), pp 257–262. https://doi.org/10.1109/CSCWD.2017.8066704

  4. Ni Scanaill C, Carew S, Barralon P et al (2006) A review of approaches to mobility telemonitoring of the elderly in their living environment. Ann Biomed Eng 34:547–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-005-9068-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Pal D, Triyason T, Funikul S (2017) Smart homes and quality of life for the elderly: a systematic review. IEEE Int Symp Multimedia (ISM) 11–13:413–419. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISM.2017.83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Whitmore A, Agarwal A, Da Xu L (2015) The internet of things—a survey of topics and trends. Inf Syst Front 17:261–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9489-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kuyoro S, Osisanwo F, Akinsowon O (2015) Internet of things (IoT): an overview. In: 3rd international conference on advances in engineering sciences & applied mathematics, pp 53–58

  8. Elena-Lenz C (2014) Internet of things: six key characteristics. https://designmind.frogdesign.com/2014/08/internet-things-six-key-characteristics/. Accessed 10 Sept 2019

  9. Schüll ND (2016) Data for life: wearable technology and the design of self-care. BioSocieties 11:317–333. https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2015.47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wagner F, Basran J, Dal Bello-Haas V (2012) A review of monitoring technology for use with older adults. J Geriatric Phys Therapy 35:28–34. https://doi.org/10.1519/JPT.0b013e318224aa23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. World Health Organisation (2018) Ageing and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health. Accessed 10 Sep 2019

  12. New Zealand Ministry of Health (2016) Our changing population. New Zealand Government https://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/older-peoples-health-data-and-stats/our-changing-population. Accessed 10 Sep 2019

  13. World Health Organisation (2011) Global health and aging. National Institute on Aging. https://www.who.int/ageing/publications/global_health.pdf. Accessed 10 Sep 2019

  14. Buttorff C, Ruder T, Bauman M (2017) Multiple chronic conditions in the United States. Santa Monica

  15. Centers for Medicare and Medicaids Services (2018) NHE Fact Sheet 2017. US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nhe-fact-sheet.html. Accessed 10 Jan 2019

  16. Ann OC, Theng LB (2014) Human activity recognition: a review. In: IEEE international conference on control system, computing and engineering (ICCSCE 2014), pp 389–393. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCSCE.2014.7072750

  17. Ahmadi H, Arji G, Shahmoradi L et al (2018) The application of internet of things in healthcare: a systematic literature review and classification. Univ Access Inf Soc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-018-0618-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Grant MJ, Booth A (2009) A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Inf Libr J 26:91–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Yi E (2018) Themes don’t just emerge — Coding the qualitative data. https://medium.com/@projectux/themes-dont-just-emerge-coding-the-qualitative-data-95aff874fdce. Accessed 9 May 2019

  20. Lee SY, Chou CL, Hsu SPC et al (2016) Outcomes after stroke in patients with previous pressure ulcer: a nationwide matched retrospective cohort study. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 25:220–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Dakurah MN, Koo C, Choi W et al (2015) Implantable bladder sensors: a methodological review. Int Neurourol J 19:133–141. https://doi.org/10.5213/inj.2015.19.3.133

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Punj R, Kumar R (2018) Technological aspects of WBANs for health monitoring: a comprehensive review. Wireless Netw. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-018-1694-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. de Podestá GR, Bonacin R, Gonçalves VP (2018) Designing IoT solutions for elderly home care: A systematic study of participatory design, personas and semiotics. In: Antona M, Stephanidis C (eds) Universal access in human-computer interaction. Virtual, augmented, and intelligent environments. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 226–245

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  24. Bal M, Shen W, Hao Q et al (2011) Collaborative smart home technologies for senior independent living: a review. In: 15th international conference on computer supported cooperative work in design (CSCWD), pp 481–488. https://doi.org/10.1109/CSCWD.2011.5960116

  25. Chan M, Esteve D, Escriba C et al (2008) A review of smart homes—present state and future challenges. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 91:55–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2008.02.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Mitas AW, Rudzki M, Skotnicka M et al (2014) Activity monitoring of the elderly for telecare systems—review. In: Piętka E, Kawa J, Wieclawek W (eds) Information technologies in biomedicine. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 125–138

    Google Scholar 

  27. Khosravi P, Ghapanchi AH (2016) Investigating the effectiveness of technologies applied to assist seniors: a systematic literature review. Int J Med Informatics 85:17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2015.05.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Kumari P, Mathew L, Syal P (2017) Increasing trend of wearables and multimodal interface for human activity monitoring: a review. Biosens Bioelectron 90:298–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2016.12.001

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Chen S, Lach J, Lo B et al (2016) Toward pervasive gait analysis with wearable sensors: a systematic review. IEEE J Biomed Health Informatics 20:1521–1537. https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2016.2608720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Reeder B, Chung J, Stevens-Lapsley J (2016) Current telerehabilitation research with older adults at home: an integrative review. J Gerontol Nurs 42:15–20. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20160201-02

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Klimova B (2016) Mobile health devices for aging population groups: a review study. In: Younas M, Awan I, Kryvinska N, Strauss C, Thanh DV (eds) Mobile web and intelligent information systems. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 295–301

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  32. Chiarini G, Ray P, Akter S et al (2013) mHealth technologies for chronic diseases and elders: a systematic review. IEEE J Sel Areas Commun 31:6–18. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSAC.2013.SUP.0513001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Brownsell S, Hawley M (2004) Fall detectors: do they work or reduce the fear of falling? Hous Care Support 7:18–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Kalid N, Zaidan AA, Zaidan BB et al (2017) Based-real time remote health monitoring systems: a review on patients prioritization and related "big data" using body sensors information and communication technology. J Med Syst 42:30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-017-0883-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Wang Z, Yang Z, Dong T (2017) A review of wearable technologies for elderly care that can accurately track indoor position, recognize physical activities and monitor vital signs in real time. Sensors 17:2. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17020341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Shany T, Redmond SJ, Marschollek M et al (2012) Assessing fall risk using wearable sensors: a practical discussion. A review of the practicalities and challenges associated with the use of wearable sensors for quantification of fall risk in older people. Z Gerontol Geriatr 45:694–706. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-012-0407-2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Sharma CAA, Sai Vishnu Kumar ASK, Prasad A et al (2018) Multifaceted bio-medical applications of exoskeleton: a review. In: 2nd international conference on inventive systems and control (ICISC), pp 11–15. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICISC.2018.8399053

  38. Jaul E, Menzel J (2014) Pressure ulcers in the elderly, as a public health problem. J General Pract 2:174. https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-9126.1000174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Yein N, Pal S (2017) Technological assistance for fall among aging population: a review. In: Chakrabarti A, Chakrabarti D (eds) Research into design for communities, 1st edn. Springer, Singapore, pp 409–419

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  40. de Bruin ED, Hartmann A, Uebelhart D et al (2008) Wearable systems for monitoring mobility-related activities in older people: a systematic review. Clin Rehabil 22:878–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215508090675

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Celler BG, Hesketh T, Earnshaw W et al (1994) An instrumentation system for the remote monitoring of changes in functional health status of the elderly at home. In: 16th annual international conference of the IEEE engineering in medicine and biology society, IEEE, pp 908–909

  42. Lockwood C, Conroy-Hiller T, Page T (2004) Vital signs. JBI Rep 2:207–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Albahri AS, Zaidan AA, Albahri OS et al (2018) Real-time fault-tolerant mhealth system: comprehensive review of healthcare services, opens issues, challenges and methodological aspects. J Med Syst 42:137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-018-0983-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Vercelli A, Rainero I, Ciferri L et al (2018) Robots in elderly care. DigitCult-Sci J Dig Cult 2:37–50

    Google Scholar 

  45. Bogue R (2013) Robots to aid the disabled and the elderly. Ind Robot

  46. Koceski S, Koceska N (2016) Evaluation of an assistive telepresence robot for elderly healthcare. J Med Syst 40:121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Coradeschi S, Kristoffersson A, Loutfi A et al (2011) Towards a methodology for longitudinal evaluation of social robotic telepresence for elderly. In: Human robot interaction, 2011

  48. Orlandini A, Kristoffersson A, Almquist L et al (2016) ExCITE Project: a review of forty-two months of robotic telepresence technology evolution. Presence Teleoper Virt Env 25:204–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Shibata T, Wada K (2011) Robot therapy: a new approach for mental healthcare of the elderly—a mini-review. Gerontology 57:378–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Tanabe S, Saitoh E, Koyama S et al (2019) Designing a robotic smart home for everyone, especially the elderly and people with disabilities. Fujita Med J 5:31–35

    Google Scholar 

  51. Camarinha-Matos LM, Ferrada F, Oliveira AI et al (2014) Care services provision in ambient assisted living. IRBM 35:286–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Miori V, Russo D (2017) Improving life quality for the elderly through the Social Internet of Things (SIoT). In: Global internet of things summit (GIoTS), IEEE, pp 1–6

  53. Talpur MSH, Liu W, Wang G (2014) A ZigBee-based elderly health monitoring system: design and implementation. Int J Autonomous Adapt Commun Syst 7:393–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Rodrigues J, Segundo DB, Junqueira HA et al (2018) Enabling technologies for the internet of health things. IEEE Access 6:13129–13141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Marcos-Pablos S, García-Peñalvo FJ (2019) Technological ecosystems in care and assistance: a systematic literature review. Sensors 19:708

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), 34 St. Paul Street, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand

    Soe Ye Yint Tun & Samaneh Madanian

  2. Department of Information Technology and Software Engineering, School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Auckland, New Zealand

    Farhaan Mirza

Authors
  1. Soe Ye Yint Tun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Samaneh Madanian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Farhaan Mirza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samaneh Madanian.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author declares that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article is a review work and does not contain any studies with human participants.

Statement of human and animal rights

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tun, S.Y.Y., Madanian, S. & Mirza, F. Internet of things (IoT) applications for elderly care: a reflective review. Aging Clin Exp Res 33, 855–867 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01545-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01545-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation