Cognitive impairment due to ageing and age-related diseases, such as dementias, is increasing in incidence rates, rendering affected people unable to navigate their daily life in an independent manner. Current trends point towards increased prevalence of dementias, linked to the increasing median a…
Cognitive impairment due to ageing and age-related diseases, such as dementias, is increasing in incidence rates, rendering affected people unable to navigate their daily life in an independent manner. Current trends point towards increased prevalence of dementias, linked to the increasing median age of general population.
People that exhibit cognitive impairment symptoms require presence of a carer, to help with performing daily activities. Given the current trends, more and more people will seek continuous support. Providing continuous support is a costly process. Demographic trends will further exacerbate the costs and exert growing strain in healthcare institutions. In response, various institutions are seeking solutions that can mitigate this problem, by enabling patients and the elderly to lead an independent life at home, thus postponing the need to move to a care facility.
Technologies that can be deployed at home, ranging from simple, low-cost sensors, up to smart robots and interfaces, have the potential to provide the sought after solutions. Such solutions will allow these patients and the elderly to continue living independently of constant care and in turn addresses the challenges faced by healthcare institutions.
The TCCD 2009 workshop seeks to bring together ongoing research work in the field of assisted living, with emphasis on technologies designed for assisting individuals with cognitive decline in carrying out daily activities, thus enabling them to lead an independent life, for as long as possible.