To better serve the elderly at home and patients requiring remote monitoring outside of hospital and nursing home environments, AT&T last week announced that it will provide mobile internet capabilities for Embedded Wireless' Zilant Wellness Remote Monitoring Platform and mobile personal emergency response (mPERS) system.
The wellness platform and the mPERS pendant, a device worn around the neck, allow caregivers to monitor patients remotely. A home monitoring platform, the Zilant system integrates monitoring devices and environment sensors to facilitate elder care, chronic disease management and independent living, while the mPERS pendant continuously monitors activity, location and can detect falls, providing two-way voice communication for emergency response and simultaneously transmitting relevant data such as location and relevant personal information.
The wellness platform shares the information with caregivers and family via the cloud with a secure web browser and password. Currently piloted in eldercare environments in the U.S. and Europe, Zilant is slated to launch later this year.
"Systems can be fully operational at home within hours of a patient's discharge from the hospital, giving caregivers and healthcare providers the ability to remotely monitor data gathered by home based sensors and monitoring devices," Chris Penrose, senior vice president, AT&T Emerging Devices, said in a statement.
According to a July report from ABI Research, the growing senior demographic combined with economic, social, and technological developments are driving investment and demand for home monitoring devices that can extend and improve in-home care, with monitoring devices expected to grow to more than 36 million units in 2017, up from under 3 million units in 2011. Leveraging wireless communications in a form factor that can be worn without restriction or discomfort, says ABI Research, will help extend the ability of seniors to live independently and care givers to provide crucial care.
Overall, the wearable technology market is expected to be worth $6 billion worldwide by 2016, according to estimates from an IMS Research report published in August.
To learn more:
- read the AT&T announcement