Use case 3: home-based (standard scenario)

The user of this UC is an elderly person with MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) who lives alone and is still autonomous. Typically the user may have been subject to some episodes of memory loss and disorientation, and he/she is currently being monitored by his/her doctor.

An additional users are both family members, who typically do not live with the user and the doctor.

The latter typically prescribes medicines and has activated a program of activities that the user should be able to perform by himself/herself at his/her own place, in order to monitor the patient’s condition and to implement some simple measures to exercise memory and attention.

The TV can typically considered as the interface of preference with the user, to which specific IT devices can be attached in the form of __set-up boxes__*. These __set-up boxes__* can be used to turn the screen on when it is time to take medications, or to start a remote sessions with a doctor to perform a periodic evaluation tests.

__Set-up boxes__* can be regarded as gateways to compatible smart sensors kit, which communicates with the set-up via standard protocols (e.g. M2M). Smart sensors include consumer grade devices such as activity-sensing bracelet, The __set-up box__* is also used to connect IP camera for video conferencing or more sophisticated localisation kits which can be attached to several objects (medicine boxes, remote control, home keys etc.) to help the user locate them.

Through the __set-up box__* (acting as home gateway) sensors can connect to ad-hoc developed cloud platforms (this may be provided as part of public care service), where the user’s medical records can be stored and made available to the medical team.

When it is time to take the medicines, the set-up turns on the TV screen and produces an alarm audio and video signal. Then, an audio message suggests the user where his medicines are located. The sensors on the user’s wrist and on the medicine box is used to understand if he/she has taken the medicine. After that, the system asks the user to place the medicine back in the right place, or in different places (this way the next time, the system may ask the user if he/she remembers the last place where the medicine box was left, in order to train his memory).

The system will also produce alarms in case the sensor on the user’s wrist remains still for many hours during the day. The alarm can be seen by the user’s doctor and family member (if properly authorised by the user to do so), who can therefore call the user to assert his conditions. If the user is out for a walk, the sensor (through an embedded GPS receiver) can be used to monitor his/her position and communicates it to the system via a wireless network. If the user is out for too long, maybe the user is living an episode of disorientation; the interface will then alarm the family member. At any moment, the family member (if authorised by the user) can monitor the user’s conditions and ask questions using the system.

*) “set-up box”, “system”, “app” and “service” all refer to the various components being developed by the EC funded project UNCAP ( www.uncap.eu )

-- GiuseppeConti - 28 May 2015