Anna's Story
From Capsil Wiki
Seven o’clock in the morning, as every day, Anna is going to have her breakfast. Anna is 79 years old, and since 6 years ago, when she underwent a hip prosthetic, she usually tidy up the house before to perform the rehabilitation exercises. The rehabilitation is ended many time ago but, as suggested by her doctor, she regularly goes to her physiotherapist office to preserve as much as possible her motion abilities. Anna suffers of a serious form of arthrosis that is going to damage with a notable pain all her articulation, especially the hip and the hands. Even if her left hand is almost closed, it will not be this problem to prevent her from living her life as she wants, in fact Anna as all the women of her family, has a strong character and not admit to change her habits so simply.
Her two sons fear was related to the possibility that Anna could fall in her home without to be in position to call help. In particular, in the last year, her healthy condition have an aggravation due to her osteoporosis became more aggressive augmenting the risk and the consequences of a falling.
These are the main reasons that induced Anna to well accept to install in her home a monitoring system, especially when the alternative is the hospitalization. The system she is using monitors her movement highlighting if there are motion anomalies, and provides her with a support to remember both the medication at the correct time and to follow the diet.
In the kitchen there is one of the signs of the system presence. A double touch screen in the elegant shape of a book is placed closed to her sink, it contains all her recipes included her famous Pasqualina pie. Her son Matteo has helped to put all data in this book. On the left screen, it appears the suggested food for the day, associated with the time and the diet Anna has to follow to preserve the prosthetic. The suggested food will guarantee the correct balance of calcium , sodium and sugar, between all the meals.
This morning the magic book suggests a breakfast that she don’t want. With a simple pressure of her finger on the screen, the book suggests an alternative food and she selects her preferences. After her breakfast, she takes her prescriptions: the pills of the morning are on the open part of the dispenser, and she goes to her room for the exercises.
Today, differently from usual, she not goes to the physiotherapist office, but she will perform her exercises at home. At 7:30 am, just after finished to prepare the room for the activity, she receive the call from her physiotherapist, and his image appears on the projection screen beside the bed. After the regards, the therapist starts indicating where Anna has to put the patch on her body. Such patchs are sensors that will allow the system to track physiological data and to track the motion of the joints. Anna knows that, with the help of her system, she can perform the exercises autonomously, but she prefer to work with the therapist, especially because he is a so courteous man and she loves to chat with him. It is not the first time that she needs to change the time scheduled for the exercise. Sometimes the therapist isn’t at disposal for the time Anna required, just in that case Anna use the automatic training, and she had not any problem to do it. However she prefers the contact with real human being and it is too old for change mind.
Today the reason for changing the schedule is very important, in fact she want to go as soon as possible to the market to buy the more fresh and best quality ingredients for the dinner. This evening Anna will prepare her special dinner for her son Marco and his family. Marco work in north Europe where lives with his wife and their young daughter, so Anna has not occasion to see them very frequently. Finished the exercises session, she perceives a dizzy feeling because she stand up too fast. Immediately the system notices this condition: a sound feedback highlights an alarm situation and a voice suggests to Anna to sit down again and to wait. After a minute the system tell her to stand up again. Following the indications written on the bedside table display to check if everything is ok, Anna waits a little bit to stand before to go on her bathroom.
Before to go to the market, Anna goes to the kitchen to check on her Special Mobile Phone the shopping list and she notices a flashing hint indicating to buy also the pressure pills. This remind has been automatically send on her Special Mobile Phone by the monitoring system. In fact when in the pills dispenser the amount of pills are under a threshold, the dispenser gives an alarm to the System that communicates the remind to the appropriate person, by the chose device. Since Anna can buy the prescriptions by herself she receive the remind on her mobile phone, in fact this is the device she uses more frequently. Anna thought that it is good to notice it before to finish them, especially when she have already planned to go to out for buying.
Going back from the market Anna meet her neighbor Maria. Maria is a widow too and frequently they meet each other for chat or to go to Mass.
Since purchase was too heavy for her, the shop assistant will provide it directly to her home, but not before the closing for lunch, so she has time for Maria and decided to invite her to take a coffee.
Entering at home, Anna pushes a button just over the entryphone, and on the display appears the notice an adult host. Then she makes her way towards the kitchen followed by Maria. Anna lights the flame under the moka and sits in front of Maria. When the coffee is ready she stands up to go to the cooker and an acoustic alarm indicates a possible obstacle on the Anna’s way: on the floor there is the sweater of Maria, fell from the chair on which she had placed.
Since entering at home Anna indicates the presence of a host, some alarm are reduced and other increase they level of attention, very powerful especially with her grandchild.
Unfortunately Anna forgot to disconnect the audio feedback, and to switch the alarm on her mobile phone vibration, so the alarm surprise Maria that did not remember the technological support of Anna particularly invisible for inexpert eyes. Recovered the sweater, Anna rapidly serves the coffee in order to switch the Maria attentions, cause Anna do not like to receive too many questions on her special support. While they are chatting Anna updates her magic book selecting what will be the menu for dinner in order to control the meal for the lunch according to her diet. After one hour a providential ring at the door indicates both to Maria that is time to go and to Anna that her purchase is arrived so she can have her lunch and above all she can start to cook for the dinner.
Gaps
- This story is quite good in that it illustrates what is very possible today, but not in practise being implemented! All of these scenarios (medication tracking, video-conferencing, physiological measurements etc) are technically very possible at present however they are very seldom linked together i.e. they exist as standalone solutions. For example it is quite possible to detect the 'fallen sweater' as an obstacle and to raise an alarm, however the system would have to be set up to 'learn' this. The linking of such scenarios using 'todays' technologies is a major gap that needs to be addressed.
