Background: Research shows that older adults' performance on choice reaction time (CRT) tests can predict cognitive decline. A simple CRT tool could help detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and preclinical dementia, allowing for further stratification of cognitive disorders on-site or via telemedicine.
Objective: The primary objective was to develop a CRT testing device and protocol to differentiate between two cognitive impairment categories: (a) subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (na-MCI), and (b) amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) and multiple-domain a-MCI (a-MCI-MD).
Background: Loneliness and social isolation are major public health concerns for older adults, with severe mental and physical health consequences. New technologies may have a great impact in providing support to the daily lives of older adults and addressing the many challenges they face. In this scenario, technologies based on voice assistants (VAs) are of great interest and potential benefit in reducing loneliness and social isolation in this population, because they could overcome existing barriers with other digital technologies through easier and more natural human-computer interaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe negative consequences of microgravity for the human body are central aspects of space travel that raise health problems. Altered functions of the same systems and treatment options are common points of spaceflight physiology, age-related diseases, and oral medicine. This work emphasizes the convergence of knowledge between pathophysiological changes brought on by aging, physiological reactions to microgravity exposure, and non-pharmacological and non-invasive treatment methods that can be used in spaceflight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInnovative technologies can support older adults with or without disabilities, allowing them to live independently in their environment whilst monitoring their health and safety conditions and thereby reducing the significant burden on caregivers, whether family or professional. This paper discusses the design of a study protocol to evaluate the acceptance, usability, and efficiency of the SAVE system, a custom-developed information technology-based elderly care system. The study will involve older adults (aged 65 or older), professional and lay caregivers, and care service decision-makers representing all types of users in a care service scenario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-duration space flight missions impose extreme physiological stress and/or changes, such as musculoskeletal function degradation, on the crew due to the microgravity exposure. A great deal of research studies have been conducted in order to understand these physiological stress influences and to provide countermeasures to minimize the observed negative effects of weightlessness exposure on musculoskeletal function. Among others, studies and experiments have been conducted in DI analogue Earth-based facilities in order to reproduce the weightlessness negative effects on the human body.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, we present an exhaustive description of an extensible e-Health Internet-connected embedded system, which allows the measurement of three biometric parameters: pulse rate, oxygen saturation and temperature, via several wired and wireless sensors residing to the realm of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and cognitive assessment through Choice Reaction Time (CRT) analysis. The hardware used is based on ATMEGA AVR + MySignals Hardware printed circuit board (Hardware PCB), but with multiple upgrades (including porting from ATMEGA328P to ATMEGA2560). Multiple software improvements were made (by writing high-level device drivers, text-mode and graphic-mode display driver) for increasing functionality, portability, speed, and latency.
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