Expert Knowledge for Modeling Functional Health from Sensor Data.
BACKGROUND
ICT based solutions are increasingly introduced for active and healthy ageing. In this context continuous monitoring of older adults with domestic sensor systems has been suggested to provide important information about their functional health. However, there is not yet a solid model for the interpretation of the sensor data.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study is to define a set of predictors of functional health that can be measured with domestic sensors and to determine thresholds that identify relevant changes in these predictors.


METHODS
On the basis of literature we develop a model that relates functional health predictors to features derived from sensor data. The parameters of this model are determined on the basis of a study among health experts (n = 38). The use of the full model is illustrated with three cases.


RESULTS
We identified 25 predictors and their attributes. For 12 of them that can be measured with passive infrared motion sensors we determined their parameters: the attribute thresholds and the urgency thresholds.


CONCLUSIONS
With the parametrized predictors in the model, domestic sensors can be deployed to assess functional health in a standardized way. Three case examples showed how the model can be used as a screening instrument for functional decline.
Saskia M. B. Robben, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Research Group Digital Life, Wibautstraat 2 - 4, 1091 GM Amsterdam, The Netherlands, E-mail: s.m.b.robben@hva.nl.
Saskia M B
SM
Robben
Margriet C
MC
Pol
Bianca M
BM
Buurman
Ben J A
BJ
Kröse
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D003625:Data Collection; D005104:Expert Testimony; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013686:Telemetry
Ambulatory monitoring; activities of daily living; biomedical technology; frail elderly; telemedicine; telemetry