18044
Care Alert: A Technology to Prevent Elopement
Objectives: The purpose of developing CareAlert was to provide an in-home monitoring system that could be used to monitor an individual with cogntive impairment. Additionally the purpose of this project was to utilize scientific methods to test the acceptability and effectiveness of the system.
Methods: Product development was funded with Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards from the National Institute of Nursing Research. Subsequently a small business was formed to bring this product to market.
Results: CareAlert has the following characteristics: monitors without the child wearing any devices; alarms at the site of the caregiver, not at the location of the child; easy to install and use; multiple integrated safety features to facilitate nightly activation, variable alarms depending on the severity of the situation; mobile control panel that can be used throughout the home; and self-monitoring of system health. The system has been fully tested in persons with dementia and use resulted in an 85% reduction in nighttime events. A pilot study has been conducted in homes of child with ASD. In the pilot, there was strong acceptability and easy usability of the system by the parents. Children tolerated the system well. In the 6 families in which full 6-month data were available, there were trends toward reductions in parent nighttime awakenings which were accompanied by decreases in stress scores and better sleep quality. A full trial of the effect of CareAlert in improving child and parent sleep as well as reducing the consequence of fragmented sleep is in the planning stages.
Conclusions: CareAlert represents a novel and tested technology designed particularly to prevent home elopements in persons with cognitive impairment. This technology may be particularly useful in homes of children with ASD. The technology is market ready with units being produced from the initial manufacturing tooling. A demonstration of CareAlert will be provided.