E-services for the Elderly at Home

The exponential growth in the ageing population in European countries is raising severe problems for the national health programmes, scrambling to create adaptable solutions for different medical situations and diseases. The “OLDES” project, funded by the 6th EU FP, and coordinated by Massimo Busuoli and Marco Carulli, ENEA, Italy, aimed at tackling some of the challenges that e-Health for the elderly has to face today by implementing an affordable and customisable tele-cardiology system. The OLDES approach, based on a “participative design” concept, has developed an accessible and logical medical platform for the elderly, involving interested actors both in the implementation of the system and in the design/validation phases. The use of a low-cost PC, combined with essential tele-support and telemedicine services, has made OLDES a viable model for future service providers and regional social services interested in setting up a programme for remote diabetes and cardiologic services. To test and validate the OLDES platform, 2 pilots have been implemented: one in Prague focused on 10 diabetes patients and one in Bologna, targeted at 100 elderly (10 with cardiologic diseases).
http://www.oldes.eu