DEVICE FOR AIDING MEMORY DYSFUNCTION IN ELDERLY

DESCRIPTION (Investigator's Abstract): As demographics of the North American population change, there is a critical need to provide convenience items which can improve the safety and functioning of the elderly. There is a rising rash of incidents where elderly citizens have been injured or have put themselves at risk, because they are not able to recollect/ retrieve items necessary for their day-to-day activities. A growing number of senior citizens and their care providers are becoming aware of the burdens which come with memory loss and the resulting inability to function. This Phase I, SBIR application proposes to develop an audible lost item retrieval product suitable for home consumer applications. Based on incident RF energy, a tiny receiver can emit an audible tone to locate the medical or convenience items. The unit can be inconscpiusly mounted on consumer or medical devices, e.g. prescription glasses, medication containers, keys etc. If misplaced, these items can be polled using remote locating transponders similar to TV remote controls. A prototype unit will be build in Phase I to demonstrate concepts and to develop consumer attributes through field trials. In Phase II, they will develop miniaturization concepts to make this a practical unit for home use. $ = TOTAL AWARD AMTS & NOT LIMITED TO PORTION OF PROJECT RELATED TO SUBJECT OF SEARCH SUBPROJECT $ = TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT DIVIDED BY NUMBER OF SUBPROJECTS SOURCE: CRISP FORMAT F FY 97 LAST UPDATE 04-07-98 1QUERY 1536 ID SEARCH 06/01/98 PAGE 27 --PROJECT NUMBER......1 R43 AG14613-01 INVESTIGATOR NAME/ADDRESS FY 97 MORRISON, JATONA L IRG/INTRAMURAL UNIT..ZRG4 MULTUM INFORMATION SERV, INC AWARD AMOUNT......... $96,969 3200 CHERRY CREEK SOUTH DRIVE DENVER, CO 80209 PERFORMING ORGANIZATION: MULTUM INFORMATION SERVICES, INC. TITLE GERIATRIC SERVICE ABSTRACT: The elderly population is one of the fastest growing segments of the American population. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of clinicians who are specifically trained to identify and treat the problems associated with advancing age. As a result, predictable deteriorations in renal function, increasing drug-utilization over time and susceptibility to age-related illnesses all serve to threaten the health of many elderly Americans. The Geriatric Service of MediSource is a comprehensive computerized product that addresses the informational needs of clinicians who care for elderly patients. The Geriatric Service specifically offers age-specific recommendations for preventative care, and tools to provide audits for those medication-related hazards that mist commonly affect elderly patients. The intent of the Geriatric Service is not to expand the content of existing applications, but to create a fundamentally new approach to the management of the elderly patient. We believe that integrated clinical information services like those offered by Multum are rapidly becoming the standard of care for pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions and hope to improve dramatically the care rendered to elderly patients with this proposed Geriatric Service.