Behavioral Patterns of Older Adults in Assisted Living

• Published in: IEEE transactions on information technology in biomedicine Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 387 - 398
• Main Authors: Virone, Gilles, Alwan, Majd, Dalal, Siddharth, Kell, Steven W., Turner, Beverely, Stankovic, John A., Felder, Robin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.05.2008
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Apartment buildings; Assisted Living Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Automotive engineering; Behavior - physiology; Behavioral science; Biomedical monitoring; biometrics; Biosensors; Chronobiology; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; circadian/seasonal activity rhythms; Computer programs; Deviation; Diagnostic systems; Female; healthcare; Humans; Male; Medical diagnostic imaging; Middle Aged; Monitoring; Monitoring, Ambulatory - methods; Monitoring, Ambulatory - statistics & numerical data; Motion estimation; pattern mining; Pattern Recognition, Automated - methods; Prediction algorithms; Predictive models; Rhythm; Sensor systems; smart homes; Software algorithms; biometrics; Circadian/Seasonal Activity Rhythms; chronobiology; pattern mining; Behavioral science; smart homes; healthcare
• ISSN: 1089-7771; 1558-0032
• DOI: 10.1109/TITB.2007.904157

In this paper, we examine at-home activity rhythms and present a dozen of behavioral patterns obtained from an activity monitoring pilot study of 22 residents in an assisted living setting with four case studies. Established behavioral patterns have been captured using custom software based on a statistical predictive algorithm that models circadian activity rhythms (CARs) and their deviations. The CAR was statistically estimated based on the average amount of time a resident spent in each room within their assisted living apartment, and also on the activity level given by the average n.umber of motion events per room. A validated in-home monitoring system (IMS) recorded the monitored resident's movement data and established the occupancy period and activity level for each room. Using these data, residents' circadian behaviors were extracted, deviations indicating anomalies were detected, and the latter were correlated to activity reports generated by the IMS as well as notes of the facility's professional caregivers on the monitored residents. The system could be used to detect deviations in activity patterns and to warn caregivers of such deviations, which could reflect changes in health status, thus providing caregivers with the opportunity to apply standard of care diagnostics and to intervene in a timely manner.