Columbia, MO--Researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) and independent living community TigerPlace have found that gaming and surveillance technology can detect health issues in senior citizens. Marjorie Skubic, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the MU College of Engineering, is working with doctoral student Erik Stone to use Microsoft Kinect, the gesture recognition and motion-sensing camera system generally used as a video gaming device, to monitor behavior and routine changes in patients at TigerPlace. These changes can indicate increased risk for falls or early symptoms of illnesses.
"The Kinect uses infrared light to create a depth image that produces data in the form of a silhouette, instead of a video or photograph," said Stone. "This alleviates many seniors’ concerns about privacy when traditional web camera-based monitoring systems are used." Stone’s study, "Evaluation of an Inexpensive Depth Camera for Passive In-Home Fall Risk Assessment," won the best paper award at the Pervasive Health Conference, in Dublin, Ireland in May. The gesture recognition market may turn into an even more lucrative business if applications expand beyond gaming.
Another doctoral student, Liang Liu, is collaborating with Mihail Popescu, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and the Department of Health Management and Informatics in the MU School of Medicine, to develop a fall detection system that uses Doppler radar to recognize changes in walking, bending and other movements that may indicate a heightened risk for falls. Different human body parts create unique images, or signatures on Doppler radar. Since falls combine a series of body part motions, the radar system can recognize a fall based on its distinct signature.
SOURCE: University of Missouri; http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2011/0906-mu-researchers-use-new-video-gaming-technology-to-detect-illness-prevent-falls-in-older-adults/
