Inclusive Monitoring in Dementia: Progress Towards a Wrist Wearable Based Solution
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4108/dtip.9843Keywords:
Wearable Devices, Dementia, Health Technology, Digitalization, Industry 4.0Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The rapidly aging global population presents significant challenges, particularly in managing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions that ensure continuous care and monitoring of elderly individuals. Wearable technology offers a path to more inclusive and efficient care for older adults living with cognitive decline.
OBJECTIVES: This paper presents the design, development, and refinement of an integrated wrist-worn wearable system to support the monitoring and care of elderly people living with dementia, expanding a previous proof of concept into a compact and energy-efficient prototype optimized for real-world usability.
METHODS: The proposed system integrates advanced sensor technologies. It includes optical (MAX30101), inertial (BMI270), and GNSS (CAM-M10Q) sensors for monitor heart rate, blood oxygen levels, motion, and location. Data are transmitted via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for indoor communication and LoRa for outdoor connectivity. A custom 4×4 cm PCB was designed to consolidate all components—microcontroller, sensors, power efficiency, communication modules, and display—into a single compact and robust layout. The design process also emphasized ergonomic comfort and usability through iterative prototyping and 3D modelling.
RESULTS: The refined prototype significantly reduced the physical dimensions compared with the original proof of concept, while improving power efficiency, mechanical stability, and user comfort. The device layout and button interface were optimized to ensure intuitive interaction and safe daily use by elderly individuals.
CONCLUSION: The developed prototype establishes the foundation for a fully functional, energy-efficient wearable system tailored to dementia monitoring. Future work will include firmware optimization, extended functional validation, and the integration of intelligent analytics for behaviour recognition and anomaly detection, aiming to provide caregivers with timely and actionable health insights.
References
[1] World Health Organization: Ageing and health, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health, last accessed 2024/04/19.
[2] World Health Organization: Dementia, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia, last accessed 2024/02/02.
[3] American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR). 2022.
[4] Levenson, R.W., Chen, K.H., Levan, D.T., Chen, E.Y., Newton, S.L., Paul, D., Yee, C.I., Brown, C.L., Merrilees, J., Moss, D., Wang, G.: Evaluating In-home Assistive Technology for Dementia Caregivers. Clin Gerontol. 2024; 47, 78–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2023.2169652.
[5] Maria Pires Camargo Novelli, M., Nitrini, R., Caramelli, P., Paulo -Campus Baixada Santista, S., Associado, P.: Caregivers of elderlies with dementia: their social and demographic profile and daily impact. 2010.
[6] Rodrigues, J.D., Morais, P., Carvalho, V.: Routine Measurement and Monitoring System for the Activity of Elderly People with Dementia: A Systematic Review. 2023.
[7] Rocha, I.C., Arantes, M., Moreira, A., Vilaça, J.L., Morais, P., Matos, D., Carvalho, V.: Monitoring Wearable Devices for Elderly People with Dementia: A Review. Designs (Basel). 2024; 8, 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8040075.
[8] Costa, C., Faria, J.M., Guimarães, D., Matos, D., Moreira, A.H.J., Morais, P., Vilaça, J.L., Carvalho, V.: A Wearable Monitoring Device for COVID-19 Biometric Symptoms Detection. IRBM. 44, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irbm.2023.100810.
[9] Arantes, M., Carvalho, M., Rocha, I.C., Soares, J., Moreira, A., Pinto, M., Matos, D., Morais, P., Carvalho, V.: Towards the Development of a Wearable Device Enhancing Inclusivity and Monitoring for Dementia Patients. In: Machado, J., Trojanowska, J., Soares, F., Rea, P., Butdee, S., and Gramescu, B. (eds.) Innovations in Mechatronics Engineering IV. pp. 360–370. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham 2025.
[10] Wesselink, R., Ludden, G., Hettinga, M., Eggen, B.: Designing for dementia: An analysis of design principles. Presented at the June 16 2022. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.287.
[11] Dassault Systèmes: SolidWorks, https://www.solidworks.com/, last accessed 2025/01/22.
[12] Analog Devices: Guidelines for SpO2 Measurement, https://www.analog.com/en/resources/technical-articles/guidelines-for-spo2-measurement--maxim-integrated.html, last accessed 2025/01/20.
[13] Maxim Integrated Products: MAX30101 - High-Sensitivity Pulse Oximeter and Heart-Rate Sensor for Wearable Health. 2018.
[14] Maxim Integrated Products: MAX32664 - Ultra-Low Power Biometric Sensor Hub. 2018.
[15] U-blox: SAM-M10Q module, https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/sam-m10q-module, last accessed 2025/03/16.
[16] Bosch: bmi270_DataSheet. 2023.
[17] LoRa Node Development Kit. 2022.
[18] coprocessor, U., baseband, W.-F., MAC Wi-Fi Baseband Bluetooth Link Controller Bluetooth LE Baseband, W.-F. LE: Product Overview ESP32-S3 is a low-power MCU-based system on a chip (SoC) with integrated 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth ® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE). It consists of high-performance dual-core microprocessor (Xtensa ® 32-bit LX7), a Wireless Digital Circuits.
[19] Seeed Technology Co., Ltd.: Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense Plus, https://www.seeedstudio.com/Seeed-Studio-XIAO-nRF52840-Sense-Plus-p-6360.html, last accessed 2025/07/30.
[20] Seeed Technology Co., Ltd.: Wio-SX1262 Wireless Module, https://www.seeedstudio.com/Wio-SX1262-Wireless-Module-p-5981.html, last accessed 2025/07/30.
[21] u-blox: Omni-directional u-blox M8 GNSS antenna module, https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/cam-m8-series, last accessed 2025/07/30.
[22] EastRising Technology Co., Limited.: Serial SPI 1.5"Color OLED Display 128x128 Graphic Module,SSD1351, https://www.buydisplay.com/serial-spi-1-5-inch-color-oled-display-128x128-graphic-module-ssd1351, last accessed 2025/07/30.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Marcelo Arantes, Inês Rocha, Mariana Carvalho, Ana Freitas, José Soares, Marta Pinto, Demétrio Matos, Pedro Morais, Vìtor Carvalho
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, which permits copying, redistributing, remixing, transformation, and building upon the material in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited.
