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A continuous monitoring of the physical strength and mobility of elderly people is important for maintaining their health and treating diseases at an early stage. However, frequent screenings by physicians are exceeding the logistic capacities. An alternate approach is the automatic and unobtrusive collection of functional measures by ambient sensors. In the current publication, we show the correlation among data of ambient motion sensors and the well-established mobility assessments Short-Physical-Performance-Battery, Tinetti and Timed Up & Go. We use the average number of motion sensor events as activity measure for correlation with the assessment scores. The evaluation on a real-world dataset shows a moderate to strong correlation with the scores of standardised geriatrics physical assessments., 15 pages, 1 figure, 16 tables

Background It is important to identify the relevant parameters of physical performance to prevent early functional decline and to prolong independent living. The aim of this study is to describe the development of physical performance in a healthy community-dwelling older cohort aged 70+ years using comprehensive assessment over two years and to subsequently identify the most relevant predictive tests for physical decline to minimize assessment. Methods Physical performance was measured by comprehensive geriatric assessment. Predictors for the individual decline of physical performance by Principal Component and k-means Cluster Analysis were developed, and sensitivity and specificity determined accordingly. Results 251 subjects (Ø 75.4 years) participated in the study. Handgrip strength was low in 21.1%. The follow-up results of tests were divergent. Handgrip strength [− 16.95 (SD 11.55)] and the stair climb power test (power) [− 9.15 (SD 16.84)] yielded the highest percentage changes. Four most relevant tests (handgrip strength, stair climb power time, timed up & go and 4-m gait speed) were identified. A predictor based on baseline data was determined (sensitivity 82%, specificity 96%) to identify subjects characterized by a high degree of physical decline within two years. Discussion Although the cohort of older adults is heterogeneous, most of the individuals in the study exhibited high levels of physical performance; only a few subjects suffered a relevant decline within the 2-year follow-up. Four most relevant tests were identified to predict relevant decline of physical function. Conclusion In spite of ceiling effects of the geriatric assessment in high-performers, we assume that it is possible to predict an individual’s risk of physical decline within 2 years with four tests of a comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Comprehensive measurements are needed in older populations to detect physical changes, initiate prompt interventions, and prevent functional decline. While established instruments such as the Timed Up and Go (TUG) and 5 Times Chair Rise Test (5CRT) require trained clinicians to assess corresponding functional parameters, the unsupervised screening system (USS), developed in a two-stage participatory design process, has since been introduced to community-dwelling older adults. In a previous article, we investigated the USS’s measurement of the TUG and 5CRT in comparison to conventional stop-watch methods and found a high sensitivity with significant correlations and coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.89. This article reports insights into the design process and evaluates the usability of the USS interface. Our analysis showed high acceptance with qualitative and quantitative methods. From participant discussions, suggestions for improvement and functions for further development could be derived and discussed. The evaluated prototype offers a high potential for early detection of functional limitations in elderly people and should be tested with other target groups in other locations.

The stair climbing test (SCT) is a standard geriatric assessment to measure lower-limb strength being one of the essential components of physical function. To detect functional decline as early as possible, regular assessments of mobility, balance, and strength are necessary. Inertial measurement units (IMU) are a promising technology for flexible and unobtrusive measurements of the SCTs. We introduce an automated assessment via IMUs in a study of 83 participants aged 70–87 (75.64 ± 4,17) years. The activity of stair ascending has been automatically classified via a k-nearest-neighbor classifier and the performance was evaluated regarding the power. Therefore, we considered both, stair climb average power and peak power. Stair ascending was correctly classified in 93% of the cases with a mean deviation of 2.35% of the average power value in comparison to conventional measurements. Additionally, we showed the medical sensitivity of our system regarding the detection of transitions towards the frail status in controlled conditions and also confirmed the general suitability of automated stair climb analyses in unsupervised home-assessments.

To initiate appropriate interventions and avoid physical decline, comprehensive measurements are needed to detect functional changes in elderly people at the earliest possible stage. The established Timed UpGo (TUG) test takes little time and, due to its standardized and easy procedure, can be conducted by elderly people in their own homes without clinical guidance. Therefore, cheap light barriers (LBs) and force sensors (FSs) are well suited ambient sensors that could easily be attached to existing (arm)chairs to measure and report TUG times in order to identify functional decline. We validated the sensitivity of these sensors in a clinical trial with 100 elderlies aged 58-92 years with a mean of 74 (±6.78) years by comparing the sensor-based results with standard TUG measurements using a stopwatch. We further evaluated the accuracy enhancement when calibrating the algorithm via a mixed linear model. With calibration, the LBs achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.83 s, compared to 1.90 s without, and the FSs achieved 0.90 s compared to 2.12 s without. The suitability of measuring accurate TUG times with each of the ambient sensors and of measuring TUG regularly in the homes of elderly people could be confirmed.

Healthy aging is a core societal aim especially regarding the demographic change. But with aging, functional decline can occur and this is a major challenge for health care systems. For the evaluation of the health of older adults and the identification of early changes associated with functional and cognitive decline, clinical geriatric assessments are a well-established approach. Ideally, the assessments should take place at home of the older adults or even in their daily life, to get an unbiased functional status. Therefore, we introduce a technology supported geriatric assessment as an intermediate step to a home-assessment or in future to sensor-based-assessments in daily life. Beside various ambient sensors, a sensor belt is used during the assessments and for 1 week in the participants’ daily life. We discuss the suitability of our measuring devices for an ambient home-assessment and evaluate the sensors in comparison to valid measurements. Thereby, we show that light barrier measurements achieve a high sensitivity and a good correlation to manual measurements through study nurses or physical therapists.