Development of a multidimensional evaluation method for the use of a robotic companion as a function of care relationships

Abstract

Purpose Unnecessary interventions to rule out non-lifethreatening situations among the elderly are increasing by number and cost. This has an impact not only on the helpers (family, caretakers or friends) but also on the ambulance/fire/emergency doctor/volunteers' services whose policies and budgets are not prepared for unnecessary interventions. QuoVADIS was a project aimed at improving Homecare Services and providing help for the disabled, elderly, and cognitively impaired, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) from 2008 to 2010. It had a telemedicine platform including a pulse sensor, an actimetry sensor and a robot equipped with camera and microphone. One of the project's main goals was to assess a remote monitoring system teleoperated by emergency dispatchers to rule out non-life-threatening situations. Method This project was assessed from the end-users' point of view: among many parameters, user friendliness and feasibility were recorded according to 4 different scenarios in a smart-home environment. Results & Discussion Eight emergency dispatchers routinely working as teleoperators in a tele-health alarm center tested the 4 different scenarios performed by actors in the smart-home environment. The results show a reduced time in the detection of emergency situations (fall, bradycardia, and "power off" alarms) compared with routine tele-health alarm systems. The emergency dispatchers appreciated the system as a whole (mean score= 6.75 on a scale from 1 to 8). They suggested improving the appearance of the robot and upgrading the quality of its transmitted videos and remote monitoring. Conclusion Introducing a teleoperated robot with the usual sensors and alarms can add value to the detection of emergency situations among the elderly, thus helping to avoid unnecessary interventions. However, this system needs some improvements before it can be implemented. The above solution paves the way towards a reduction in the number of unnecessary interventions, which are today decided merely to rule out life-threatening situations.