New technology keeping seniors at home

Innovative technology keeping senior residents at home long-term

Ian Aitken, Chief Executive Officer at Unisono, talks at the SEGRA Conference at the MECC . Picture: Emma Murray

New technology is providing seniors with the opportunity to remain in their homes long-term, addressing the community's discontent towards relocating throughout their final years.

Known as SOFI, the new-age software was launched in April this year by Unisono Pty Ltd, and was showcased to Mackay at the annual SEGRA conference last week at the MECC.

Utilising sensors placed around the consumer's home to distinguish between the individual's normal and abnormal daily behaviour, the technology passively engages with the user and designated carer to ensure that the safety and independence of the consumer are seamlessly met and monitored.

Founder and CEO, Ian Aitken, says that the device has many implications for the aged-care demographic, and will allow users to avoid entering aged-care facilities.

Having recently secured a partnership with ADT Security Services, Mr Aitken says that the software aims to confront mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety concerns, to allow seniors to remain in comfortable, familiar surroundings.

"Changing somebody's environment is a massive upheaval," Mr Aitken said.

"When somebody has a cognitive decline...to remove them from a place of familiarity to a place that is completely new is a terrible shock to the system."

By use of artificial intelligence, what makes this technology unique is its method of passive observation, allowing users to easily adopt the software into their everyday lives.

Through SOFI's initial development process, Mr Aitken has met some resistance from the senior community, however as the implications and ease of the technology have become apparent, these concerns have greatly diminished.

"One of the issues we do have to be mindful of is...people within the age bracket we are going after resist this sort of technology.

"The main reason we built a passive system was that we didn't require the resident to do anything, learn anything, or touch anything in the process.

"At its simplest, it's akin to a smoke alarm."

President of the Mackay and Districts Senior Citizens Association, Charlie Symons, echoed this sentiment, and believes that the idea behind this technology holds a host of positive impacts for the senior community.

He suggests that, while a lack of trust in technology may have hindered its previous use in aged-care, the approach of how it is incorporated into their lives opens up a willingness to learn and engage with new systems.

"It's the ability to put things in the right manner," Mr Symons said.

"By just throwing things at people....you get that distrust."

Mr Symons endorsed that it was imperative for seniors to remain in familiar surroundings, as scrutiny on residential facilities heats up across Australia.

Last week, The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission confirmed that unannounced audits of aged-care facilities would increase in 2019, set to climb from 263 to 900 nation-wide.

The move follows a report by the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union this September, that found issues of under-staffing and associated neglect were leading to residents receiving less than three hours of care each down - well below the 4.3 hours recommended.

However it's not just the specific time spent under care, but the quality of time, that Mr Aitken says SOFI can adhere to.

"Quantity of hours per person is a very crude measure of failure or success."

"We are allowing the carers to focus on the people who need the most care, as opposed to a blanket spread of hours across all.

"One rule for all doesn't work.

"Some people require more and some people require less for many, many reasons."

Originally published as New technology keeping seniors at home