People are social animals. The reason they prefer living in societies is because they can depend on others to help them when they face some problem. Accepting help and helping others when in need is one of the most important factors of living as a group.
In such a case it becomes important to take care of the people who belong in the age brackets most dependent on others for living comfortably. This include the childhood, as well as in old age, which is often dubbed as the second childhood.
Technological Intervention for Elderly Care:
Netherlands government is now working on an artificial intelligence model to care for the elderly. This new technology known as “Smart Floor” will help notify caregivers when the user is about to fall.
The belt like gadget will also be fitted with air bags which will break the fall. This can reduce the risk of hip fracture by almost 70%. Too many elderly people get admitted into hospitals frequently due to fall related injuries.
In this initiative, people will also be trained to interact with health care workers through video calls, so that they can seek medical attention whenever necessary independently. This can cut down the number of care workers by almost 40%, which in turn can cut down expenditure.
In a similar initiative, Dutch scientists in the company Kepler Vision Technology developed an Artificial Intelligence system known as “Night Nurse” is 2021.
This technology included a fisheye camera capable of sending an emergency “Man Down” signal to care providers. It can detect if a patient has fallen down within 60 seconds. It can also detect when the patient is sitting down, standing up, or has left the room.
Need for Artificial Intelligence in health care:
People often put the elderly in old age homes or nursing facilities for giving them the proper care that is necessary, as it comes with a whole lot of health complications, and other age related issues.
However, there is no guarantee that proper care is always being given in these care facilities. Along with that, with a large number of residents, it often becomes difficult to monitor every single person keenly at every single moment. To deal with situations like this Netherlands is introducing new artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can help the elderly stay safe and live better.
Even though the idea of implementing Artificial Intelligence to monitor people and their activities seems rather Orwellian, it can be of great benefit. Netherlands spends the largest chunk of its GDP for elderly care in the entire world.
In 2019, it spent 4% of its GDP for same, followed by Denmark, which was 3.5%. According to their calculations, this number can double by 2050. Netherlands government is constantly working on developing new and improved artificial intelligence systems to cut down expenditure.
According to country’s Sports Minister, Connie Helder, these new technologies can help the elderly take care of themselves.
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