Smart technologies to promote elderly care services in China

Aging gets better with digital technology. In Guangzhou, China, smart technologies are being introduced to optimize care services for the elderly. A robot has been developed to examine the condition of patients.

Equipped with the latest facial recognition system, this robot can perform a physical examination and offer medical advice corresponding to the user’s needs.

Some of the latest models took center stage at the three-day Guangzhou International Elderly Health Life Expo which ended on Sunday.

“This robot is able to identify facial features and even the coating on the tongue to carry out a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health check. It is also able to conduct ‘emotional’ tests. As the TCM highly values emotional stability, the robot will give necessary medical advices when it finds the person to be in a poor mood,” said Zhou Xiaohong, a staff member from the TCM engineering technology research center in Guangzhou.

Also on display was a smart elderly care platform which enables senior citizens to test their blood pressure and blood sugar levels at home on their own. The platform can send the data to a nearby community hospital and seek for further assistance or, in any serious cases, to dispatch help.

“It is a comprehensive health management system with terminals on both sides of patients and doctors. If there’s any abnormalities on the senior’s health condition, the equipment will send the real-time health data to our service center for assistance and even rescue,” said Zhang Chun, General Manager of Guangzhou Tongle Information Technology Company.

In Shanghai, the local government is also using a household water monitoring system to record the real-time water usage in each apartment.

Developers said by checking the water data transmitted to their online management system, they would be able to tell if the senior citizens are safe and living normally at home. Neighborhood volunteers will be dispatched to check on the senior users if there’s any perceived discrepancies in their water usage.

“No one is able to live without water. So no matter how they save the water, there’s water being used. So by monitoring their water usage, we can basically tell if they are living a normal life at home,” said Xi Chunfeng, an official from neighborhood committee in Shanghai’s Jing’an District.

The system has been installed for 15 elderly people who live alone in the city’s Jing’an District and is expected to be introduced to more neighborhoods.

Reuters