The population of the globe is ageing, and we are living longer than ever. Between 2015 and 2020, a 65-year-old will live an average of 82 years. This number is predicted to rise to 84 years by 2045–2050, an increase of two years.
Through the promotion of independence, facilitation of social engagement, and provision of access to healthcare, digital technology and services can aid in the promotion of healthy and active ageing. The global technology market for the care of the elderly was worth $5.6 billion in 2017. By 2022, it is expected to reach $13.6 billion, creating a sizable market opportunity for businesses to develop products and services to support seniors’ longer and more independent lives. How can technology help us age better? We questioned the Technology Pioneers and Global Innovators communities at the World Economic Forum. What they had to say about it was as follows.
Increasing caregivers’ output
The use of technology has the potential to significantly improve caregiver effectiveness while lowering care expenditures. For instance, remote patient monitoring is essential in addressing growing costs and a lack of caregivers. On the other hand, new technologies shouldn’t be intended to replace caregivers or interpersonal interactions; rather, they should be equipped to help caregivers with challenging tasks like providing care to patients in remote locations or working late hours.
Inform us of your desire to preserve the privacy and dignity of older persons while using technology to better their health. Without the use of cameras or wearable technology, our system keeps an eye on a person’s wellbeing and activity levels in a given area. Remote patient monitoring will play a significant role in our efforts to serve an ageing population. For instance, Tellus will aid in addressing the scarcity of caregivers and rising healthcare expenditures.
Make it more user-friendly.
Technology is revolutionising healthcare and has the potential to significantly improve our quality of life as we age. Even getting to a doctor’s visit may be challenging when mobility declines. Accessibility has significantly worsened as a result of the pandemic, particularly for the elderly.
At Praava, we use technology to improve the amount and calibre of care given to the aged. To guarantee that everyone has access to high-quality healthcare no matter where they are or when they need it, our patient-centric healthcare platform merges high-quality in-clinic experiences with digital health solutions like telemedicine, e-pharmacy, and AI/ML-powered virtual primary care. In particular, virtual primary care technology enables improved remote therapeutic management and the foretelling of acute escalations, reducing the need for pointless doctor and emergency room visits. We anticipate better results, longer lifespans, and a higher quality of life as technology and remote monitoring methods evolve.
Facilitate elegant ageing at home.
The World Health Organization claims that if risk factors are identified, chronic diseases may be prevented in 80% of cases. HiNounou launched an AI Preventive platform in 12 countries after investing 12 years in R&D to help people age well at home. We use a Home Wellness kit that integrates several Internet of Medical Things to collect data in five dimensions in order to diagnose chronic diseases early (IoMT). However, gathering and keeping track of data at home is insufficient. Doctors may now make more accurate diagnoses thanks to the integration of some of the most cutting-edge AI algorithms for calculating the risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even some types of cancer.
The vast majority of aging-in-place solutions available today are very conventional and scattered. Integrated digital technologies that combine Genomic-Med-InsurTech solutions might significantly improve and lower medical productivity and expenses. HiNounou offers senior-friendly APPs with voice training and a straightforward user interface, making AgeTech adoption easier for the elderly.
More patients should receive early diagnosis and treatment.
The lives of people are getting better as they age thanks to early detection and care. In order to provide high-quality treatment at scale, healthcare must become much more proactive as we age, as our risk of metabolic disease and neuropsychiatric problems increases. The problem is that early on, the majority of illnesses have minimal impact on a person’s quality of life. At-risk patients are hence commonly forgotten about until much later.
Thanks to advancements in gene sequencing and advanced analytics, we can now effectively combat ageing and the illnesses that go along with it. The mapping of illness progression and a more precise understanding of the fundamental causes of disease are the final crucial technical developments that will promote better outcomes as we age. Technology advances are enabling us to treat ageing as a disease in previously unheard-of ways as the field of ageing and associated illnesses is quickly growing.
Make sure that morals and commitments are followed.
The inevitable decline in our health as we get older is a truth of life. On the other side, modern technology has the potential to revolutionise our experiences and travels in healthcare and enhance our quality of life as we become older. Data play a big part in this. Our health information is saved in small amounts by medical records, wearables, and health applications. When this data is collected and handled ethically and correctly, it may offer crucial insights into our health, changing our understanding and, consequently, the way healthcare is treated.
Our goal at Ada Health is to provide accurate, dependable, and trustworthy data insights that can assist people in identifying risks early on and establishing proactive, preventative health plans to stave off diseases to which they might be predisposed later in life. As we age, this becomes increasingly crucial, and employing technology to control one’s health may lengthen one’s life as well as improve quality of life. Despite the fact that the discussion about data insights and digital health has picked up steam, we’re only at the beginning. We require more open discussion and participation on this issue from medical professionals, technology businesses, lawmakers, and the people they serve if we are to have a bigger influence.
It is necessary to address NCIS (noncommunicable diseases).
With the help of contemporary technology, we may live longer and have better quality of life as we age. One important area of promise is the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases, which can reduce life expectancy and worsen quality of life. Forager AI from Brightseed discovers previously undiscovered bioactive chemicals in plants. Tiny molecular components in plants can be used to identify novel chemicals and skeletal structures, which might result in the creation of fresh medical treatments.
These substances are discovered utilising advanced metabolomics, and after being annotated for biological function using machine learning on sizable biomedical research datasets. These novel bioactive chemicals might be included into regular regimens that lengthen life expectancy and offer “more life to one’s years” if they are shown effective in human clinical studies. Forager has already discovered natural plant compounds that enhance the body’s digestion of harmful fats. Additionally, these organic molecules may be fantastic building blocks for cutting-edge drugs for the ageing population.
It is possible to forecast sickness using artificial intelligence.
We will rely more on artificial intelligence (AI) to help us foresee sickness and risk. Technologies that track our chronic illnesses as we age will grow as processing power and data become more readily available.
For instance, beginning in January 2022, radiologists in the US will get payment for applying AI to routine CT images acquired for a number of purposes, such as identifying vertebral fractures (key indicator for osteoporosis which affects 33 percent of females and 20 percent of males after the age of 60). The influence of technology on our lives will continue to improve as we get older, and this is the first-ever CPT code for radiology AI.
Create a user interface that is simple to use.
Instead of relocating into an assisted living facility where they will be secure and connected, the majority of elderly people want to stay in their homes for as long as is practical. Consider the following scenario: When your elderly aunt turns on the television in the morning, the first thing she sees is a video message that her grandson shot on his cell phone. She enjoys playing bridge at 4 o’clock but never has someone to play with. She only has to switch on the television to be able to play a game of bridge with three other elderly folks who like the game.
Instead of checking on the medications she orders or having food delivered by simply calling out a shopping list, the TV notifies her when the subsequent pill is due. In the evening, a grown child stops over for a great chat. The adult child was told through a companion app that everything was well today and that their mother was social and active. All that has to be done to create a user-friendly interface is to connect the dots in the existing technology.
broader scope, solutions
Older people should be treated with respect, compassion, and care because they helped create the society we live in today. We owe it to them and to coming generations to improve the world by using technology to fill in healthcare gaps and fill in shortages. It is our responsibility to better the world by conceiving and developing technological innovations that can scale up solutions for faster, more creative paths, enabling the ageing population to live longer, healthier lives.