A Wristwatch That Monitors the Elderly

A biosensor wristwatch checks vital signs, activity level, and emotional state of the elderly, helping caretakers monitor them throughout the day.

The Exmocare system is comprised of a wireless connectivity-enabled wristwatch that monitors the wearer's heart rate, motion, and galvanic skin response--an indication of sweating--24 hours a day. The wristwatch also monitors the wearer's level of activity via a built in accelerometer to determine whether the subject is active, inactive, or sedentary. The watch transmits the data via a Bluetooth wireless connection up to 100 meters to the wearer's computer or mobile device which, in turn, uploads the data to a data center by way of ExmoReporter proprietary software.

The system then interprets the sensor data and assesses the emotional and physical activity of the wristwatch wearer. Up to 10 different emotional states can be detected, based upon established algorithms and calculations relied upon in the fields of neuropsychology and biofeedback. The wristwatch is designed for older people and cannot be used for other age groups like teenagers, since the algorithms used to determine emotions are specific for people 65 and older.

In addition to the PC-based ExmoReporter software, the complete Exmocare system, manufactured by Exmovere (New York, NY, USA), also provides a mobile edition, reporting from a Bluetooth-enabled Windows-based mobile phone and a car kit, which correlates the physiologic data with a global positioning system (GPS) location and vehicle speed data from the wristwatch-wearer's automobile. This forms a mobile personal area network that moves with wristwatch-wearers wherever they go.

A website accessible to caretakers or family member hosts all the data, correlated to emotional states. Additionally, a monitoring program, called Exmonitor, can be installed on any computer, allowing close observation of the watch-wearer from the Windows taskbar, at home or at work. If something is out of the ordinary, an alert is sent immediately by email, cell phone, or by instant messaging to a caretaker or family member.



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