FOLLOW.ME – a system dedicated to patients with cognitive impairment

Abstract

Objectives. Neurocognitive impairment represents a frequent pathology among elderly people and not only, in the last decades the major focus of global health research being patient’s safety. The aim of paper is to present a system designed for patients with all types of neurocognitive impairment that can improve the quality of life of not only the patients with major neurocognitive impairment but also of their relatives or informal caregivers. Materials and methods. During October 2016 – February 2017 we used a multi-structured approach consisting in questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and co-creation sessions with the targeted people (neurologist, patients, caregivers) to identify and defi ne the characteristics of the system to be developed. We analysed the answers of 33 patients and informal caregivers and 27 neurologists from Romania, 29 informal caregivers and 52 formal caregivers from Belgium. Results. Based on these data obtained, the technical partners participating in the project designed an application that could run on desktops, smartwatches, tablets and smartphones. The main features of this application are outdoor/indoor localization, guidance of the patient to a specific destination, assistance, notification, real time tracking and answering and it may help to quickly locate missing patients and to keep track of them in order to know if they leave or enter a given area (house, hospital, surroundings). Conclusion. This monitoring system represents a new technology that patients, their relatives, caregivers and doctors can use in different environments to significantly increase the quality of life and also to avoid life-threatening situations.

Keywords

• elderly people
• neurocognitive impairment
• follow.me
• monitoring system