Technology To Help Aging Population
Lina Ko December 1st, 2009
I read with interest in The Toronto Star earlier this week that Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin is touching down in Toronto this week to talk about how NASA-style technology will help the elderly live better, stay in their homes longer and keep their brains sharp.
On Wednesday, Aldrin will speak about the bold new future of aging to about 200 international researchers, experts on geriatrics and people who work with the elderly. It will be the final session of a two-day summit, The Business of Aging, jointly organized by Toronto’s innovation incubator, the MaRS Centre, and the Ontario government.
According to the chief executive of MaRS, the organization plans to showcase the work of 14 up-and-coming Ontario companies now developing software, diagnostic tools and other technologies aimed specifically at the aging population. With the first wave of Canada’s 10 million baby boomers about to become seniors, there’s growing recognition that keeping them at home as long as possible is going to be key, despite what’s widely to be a shortage of caregivers.
A speaker at the summit, Laurie Orlov, says the ability of boomers to age gracefully, will depend on four things:
- Advances in ‘communication and engagement’ technology that allows seniors to keep in regular touch with friends, relatives and caregivers
- A new generation of home safety and security devices, from electronic sensors to personal emergency response systems you wear around your neck
- Health and wellness innovations such as new generations of fitness and ‘brain games’ programs and devices that will help the elderly manage and monitor chronic diseases from home
- Interventions to ensure dignity for the elderly so that they have social interaction, access to affordable and adequate transportation and are able to continue to learn and contribute to society.
I think this summit’s focus is definitely on the right track. It may sound very morbid, but instead of just accepting the impact of an aging population as it does on other societies such as those in Germany and Japan, our provincial government is facing this inevitable phenomenon head-on by strategically planning for its advent.
