Portugal Andalusia Murcia Italy Slovenia Netherlands Portugal Andalusia Murcia Italy Slovenia Netherlands

Click on the the map or choose from the list below to get directly to the pilot of interest:

Andalusia (Spain) – click here

Italy – click here

Murcia (Spain) – click here

Netherlands – click here

Portugal – click here

Slovenia – click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pilot Andalusia (Spain)

Contact person:

Ana Perandrés-Gómez (click here to send her an email)

Location:

Andalusia, Spain

Description:

The Andalusian pilot aims to make technology more accessible and user friendly to older people, building people’s confidence on technologies and involving them in the evaluation of products and services, to further improve and adapt them.  

Among the technologies used, SENTAB’s Vanilla application has been tested on a tablet. In the next phase, Sentab for tablet and Miss Activity, a monitoring tool for physical activity (Maastricht Instruments) will be tested and interoperability will be created. 

The pre-validation sessions in the Andalusian pilot took place in person in the social centers of the villages during two-hour workshops following the agreed protocol.

 

Pilot Italy

Contact person:

Laura Fiorini (click here to send her an email)

Location:

Tuscany + Apulia, Italy

Description:

The Italian pilots aim at improving the quality of life at home for older vulnerable people or mild/moderately frail individuals. In doing so, the pilots emphasize correct health management and monitoring at home. 

Among the technologies used to kick-off the pilot activities, in the second half of 2021 the Italian pilots tested a multi-platform social network called SENTAB  to boost socialization among older adults and caregivers. The Sentab tablet was used in Apulia, while the Sentab TV was used in Tuscany. A monitoring dashboard “Discovery”, supported caregivers monitoring the health status of selected pilot participants. In Tuscany, the participants were also asked to try the Ohmni robot for telepresence services. 

A cascade training process was fundamental in the pre-validation: operators were trained as “facilitators of technologies”, thus managing the test sessions, approaching the users and training them on ethical and privacy aspects related to the use of the selected technologies.  The technologies were tested by 10 older adults, 10 informal caregivers and 7 health professionals (formal caregivers in Apulia, social workers in Tuscany) during phase I. 

Testing of technologies during Phase I at geriatric clinic of the Research Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza"

Testing of technologies during Phase I at geriatric clinic of the Research Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”

Apulia

Phase II of the pre-validation started in January after procurement of the devices and refinement of the technologies and took place over different sessions at the Geriatric Unit of the Research Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” (CSS), in the Apulia pilot site. The CSS team applied a pre-recruitment strategy to determine the interest in using the proposed technologies among a group of older adults. The technologies were tested by 5 older adults, 4 informal caregivers and 2 formal caregivers in their homes for three weeks. The digital skills of the participants were appropriated for the usage of the technologies although trainer collaborators noticed that some users needed to be encouraged to use the technologies, like the Sentab App. At the recruitment stage the CSS team administered the standardized questionnaires on cognitive status, usability of the technologies and evaluation of the training. Comments and feedback were essential for technology providers to further refine the services. The main challenge that arose from the feedback of the informal and formal caregivers was the lack of some of the charts on the measurements of the sensors (environmental and body)  on the Discovery dashboard.

Testing of technologies in Phase II at the Geriatric Unit of the Research Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”

Testing of technologies in Phase II at the Geriatric Unit of the Research Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”

Tuscany

Testing of technologies in Phase II in Home Care services- Tuscany

Testing of technologies in Phase II in Home Care services- Tuscany

All the devices in the Tuscan site were purchased at the end of October 2021. Setting up the environmental and wearable sensors (with Senior Phone) took a long time. In the second part of December 2021 and the beginning of January 2022, environmental sensors and smartwatches were tested in a controlled environment, in order to verify the flow of data between the different platforms.  Umana Persone decided to involve the same users enrolled in phase I also in Phase II and for the deployment of the large-scale pilot. Since most users involved in phase II already knew and used the technology, a  short training session was only organised for new users. When the technologies were installed in the users’ home, a summary training was carried out, to remind the user of the main functions and characteristics of the devices.

Next steps: The pilot deployment starts in March 2022. Recruiters are looking for new participants that will interact with the technologies in their homes for twelve months. In March 2022 both Up and CSS  will recruit 10 older adults, 10 informal carers and 8 formal carers for the intervention group in the Socialization & Stimulation Service and the same number of participants will be recruited respectively  for the control group. In May 2022 both UP and CSS teams foresee to recruit 10 older adults, 10 informal carers and 8 formal carers for the intervention group of the Monitoring Service and the same number of participants respectively for the control group.

Pilot Murcia (Spain)

Contact person:

Francisco Melero (click here to send him an email)

Location:

Region of Murcia, Spain

Description:

The Murcia pilot aims to establish the basis of a new TeleCare Model for the Public Health Care Service of the region starting with patients with chronic heart failure, improving their health and care services and detecting emergency situations to reduce the dependency of older adults.

In Murcia, the main Scenarios to be tested are related to getting involved in the health and care process, improving patient care and detecting emergency situations. To answer these scenarios, the technologies selected are the uGRID platform (MIWEnergia), a commercial Smartband and an Activity Tracking App developed by UPCT Smartband, Amicare (CETEM), sensors and RB1-Base1 (Robotnik). All of them were integrated in the Onesait Healthcare Data Platform, a telemedicine platform that allows the treatment and follow – up of chronic patients at home. Through its two users’ interfaces: MyHealth app for older adults and informal caregivers, and Homecare, for health providers, the system offers tools for the bidirectional communication among healthcare professionals in the clinical setting and patients at home, so that patients are provided with personalized treatments according to their clinical conditions and progress

During the prevalidation phase MIW and CETEM installed and configured devices – Amicare, Smart Band and Smart devices –  at participants’ homes in Murcia, Cartagena, Alcantarilla and Yecla. Test sessions for performing and assessing the scenario defined for the RB1-Base robot, were carried out at the Hospital Morales Meseguer in Murcia, where 6 nurses from the infectious floor participated.

COVID restrictions and configuration issues forced the Murcia consortium to adapt the test sessions planned for phase II, which were arranged at the premises of the SMS in Murcia in two steps:

  • test sessions with 14 health professionals ranging from cardiologists, to nurses, family doctors, neurologists and pharmacists in December 2021
  • assessment of the MyHealth App by Older Adults and their informal caregivers in February 2022 in a hybrid way

Next steps: The pilot deployment starts in March 2022. The Public Health Service of the Region of Murcia is looking for new participants that will interact with the technologies in their homes for twelve months.

 

Pilot Netherlands

Contact person:

Angelique Tinga (click here to send her an email)

Location:

The Dutch pilot will be organized around a number of local NFE PlusBus initiatives that cater to older people in their community. There are over one hundred of these initiatives across the Netherlands (see map).

Description:

The Dutch pilot focuses on the PlusBus of the National Foundation for the Elderly. This a mobility service for older adults with over a hundred locations across the Netherlands. It brings older people together by organizing trips to the supermarket, but also cultural and social activities such as summer days at the beach and museum visits. Older people using the PlusBus want the service to be enriched with the possibility to stay connected online after an activity, and to remain physically fit to be able to continue to join activities of the PlusBus. The Dutch pilot’s aim is to support the users of the PlusBus in these goals of staying connected and staying fit by extending the services of the PlusBus. 


The services of the PlusBus are being extended with a
set of integrated technologies. These technologies are: Regicare message pages for activities of the PlusBus (AdSysCo); PACO an virtual eating and cooking coach (RRD); MISS Activity, a monitoring tool for physical activity (Maastricht Instruments). They can all be accessed from the RegiCare customer portal (AdSysCo). Moreover, the use of these technologies starts with the wizard (RRD), also on this portal. In the wizard, conversational agent Robin helps the user get started.

Pre-validation sessions were carried out to test the usability of the technologies with users of the PlusBus. By completing a set of tasks the users got to experience the full set of technologies. The users pointed out some points of improvement (e.g, enhance contrast to improve readability) which have been incorporated. Due to COVID 19-restrictions the sessions were held online.

The next step is to assess the PlusBus users’ satisfaction with and the feasibility of the PlusBus-extension in an evaluation study. Eighty PlusBus-users will get to use the technologies for one year.

 

Pilot Portugal

Contact person:

Elisabete Pitarma in Coimbra (click here to send her an email) + Adriano Fernandes in Amadora (click here to send him an email)

Location:

Coimbra + Amadora, Portugal

Description:

The Portuguese pilot aims to develop and implement citizen-focused solutions and design an integrated care system (planning, integrated infrastructures and processes, knowledge sharing). 

Two technologies have been tested so far: 1) the Sentab system, which is a platform providing social interaction among older adults and the possibility to order goods and services; 2) Globalcare, which is a virtual assistant to monitor health status and behavior. 

The two pre-validation phases were carried out as per the agreed protocol. Participants were selected according to the established inclusion criteria: 10 older adults (both sites), 2 social workers and 3 home care assistants, in Phase 1, and 5 social workers and 5 home care assistants, in Phase 2. The participants were invited to test the systems and provide feedback. As a result, the pilot partners sent their feedback and requirements to the  technological partners in order for them to  improve the system to better fit end-users ‘ needs and wishes.

Next steps: Both pilot sites will start the Pharaon pilot in March 2022. Caritas Coimbra and Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora will continue testing Sentab App with several older adults for 12 to 15 months, motivating them to interact with other older adults, play cognitive games, order services and goods using the technology and promote the integration with the near community. After having the results from the open call, Caritas Coimbra will test the apps Together with City and Nature and City Audit Tour. These apps will guide citizens, in particular older adults, towards a healthier connection with the natural areas close to their homes. Throughout the previously mentioned period of time, Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora will also continue testing Globalcare, which will support social workers and homecare assistants in the management and scheduling of the care provided, as well as a domotic system, obtained through the Open Call, to monitor and, ideally, prevent falls as well as detect early signs of illness. The aim is for this solution to ensure a safe and comfortable environment while allowing the older adults to remain independent and in their homes for longer.

Have a look at the recruitment at Caritas Coimbra:

Learn more about the pilot deployment in Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora:

 

 

Pilot Slovenia

Contact person:

Andreja Kutnar (click here to send her an email)

Location:

Izola, Ljubljana, Domžale, Lucija, Koper, Žalec

Description:

The Slovenian part of the project aims to provide appropriate technological solutions to support independent living, increase social inclusion and improve the well-being of older people, especially at retirement homes.

Pharaon partners develop, design and integrate technological devices to improve quality of life with:

  • The smart bracelet ensures the safety of older adults in care homes. It measures heart rate, steps taken, type of activity and calories burned to inform caregivers about the well-being and inconveniences of older adults.
  • The Daisy video-conferencing system allows communication with relatives and friends, and, if necessary, doctors and healthcare staff. Daisy is used by the older adults via television. Their caregivers can connect to the system via the IoChat platform on a browser or smartphone, which, in addition to video-conferencing calls, also allows them to send messages and files.
  • SeniorsPhone is an app that makes it easier for older people to use their smartphones to call and text, while having a possibility of sending their location or SOS to caregivers.
  • Various sensors detect room changes and ensure older adults’ safety. Air quality sensors measure room temperature, humidity, hazardous particles, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds, important markers, especially during a pandemic.
  • The IoTool platform collects data sent by the sensors and smart bracelets, encrypts, stores, and processes it before being sent to the SmartHabits platform, which analyses the data and detects anomalies.
  • The Discovery platform extracts the data from the SmartHabits platform to display it in a meaningful way in the form of graphs, which caregivers can then use to optimize the older adults’ environment and provide necessary assistance.

 

Pre-validation of the technologies occurred in three phases in which older adults and caregivers used the technologies for shorter periods of time and then provided feedback, while technical partners subsequently fixed identified bugs and more closely tailored the technologies to users’ needs and desires.

Currently, participants are using the technologies as part of a larger pilot, using SeniorsPhone, smartwatches, and Daisy for five months and indoor air quality sensors and Discovery for a year. In this phase, we have involved nearly 100 older adults and about 25 (in)formal caregivers.