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DURHAM, N.H.鈥擱esearchers at the 91制片厂 will receive a five-year grant totaling $2.8 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and test social assistive robots to aid in the care of individuals with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and related dementia in the comfort of their own homes.

鈥淐aring for aging adults, especially those dealing with progressive Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia, can place a high burden on family caregivers who cannot be with their care recipients 24/7,鈥� said Sajay Arthanat, professor of occupational therapy. 鈥淭he ultimate goal of this research is to help support those caregivers while keeping their family member healthy and active at home.鈥�

The interdisciplinary team of researchers created a prototype robot that has been tested in a controlled lab setting. The new grant from the NIH鈥檚 National Institute on Aging would help build on their success by creating a technological framework to develop social assistive robots with more capabilities and test them in home settings. This would include compatibility with commercial devices already found in homes, like motion control cameras and sensors, to keep older adults safe and in line with their health care. For example, if a patient does not take their medication on time, a sensor strategically placed by their pill bottle would track the lack of movement鈥攊ndicating the patient didn鈥檛 take their medicine鈥� and would alert the assistive robot. The robot would then initiate a vocal reminder to the patient. If, after a few attempts, the patient does not respond by taking their medicine, the robot would alert a remote human caregiver who would be able to intervene.

鈥淲ith this grant, we will be able to further develop the robot鈥檚 technological framework from not only using smart home devices but also artificial intelligence and wearables, like a smart watch, to help gauge the patient鈥檚 activity level, health management and connectedness with caregivers,鈥� said Momotaz Begum, assistant professor of computer science.

While this research is focused on robots to aid with Alzheimer's and dementia care, researchers hope it may have other future applications and benefit seniors by letting them age safely in their homes.

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Photo 1:
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Caption: Sajay Arthanat, professor of occupational therapy (left) and Momotaz Begum, assistant professor of computer science (right) co-principal investigators with prototype of robot for aging patients with Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease and related dementia.
Photo credit: 91制片厂

Photo 2:
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Caption: During a lab test, the assistive robot prototype warns a researcher, posing as a patient, that they have missed a medication dose.
Photo credit: 91制片厂