"The cross-industry research and development investments make it clear that innovation in the area of home health technology is thriving in the United States. But it's also critical for government to get more involved in addressing the challenges that will come with the doubling of our senior population."
— Pat Gelsinger, Intel Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Federal government officials have a more personal view of wireless sensor network technologies from industry and university researchers thanks to a conference hosted by the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST*) in Washington, D.C. Demonstrations of Intel sensor technologies by researchers show how the tiny sensor could potentially open new markets for proactive computing and communications technologies by having a big impact on future applications for healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, public safety, transportation and environmental management.

Explore more details below.

	Highlighting Health Care Potential
	Home and Health Technology Demonstrations
	Beyond Health Care
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Eric Dishman, director of Intel's proactive health research and founder and chairman of the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST*), says technologies developed and demonstrated by industry and university researchers offer evidence that research and development can produce basic solutions to address the aging baby boomer population that's nearly ready to enter an overburdened health care system.

In-home digital technology based on silicon-sensing devices discretely embedded into shoes, clothing, furniture, and home appliances could make it possible for elders, Alzheimer's patients and others with disabling conditions to continue living at home. By combining these sensor networks with complex algorithms that enhance communication and computing, the nickel-sized sensors can send or receive prompts to elderly and disabled people that can help increase their quality of life and ease the burden for caregivers.

"Our research shows that wireless sensor networks are an extremely promising area for home health technology development," said Dishman.

In the demonstration "Sensing Social Health," Intel's proactive health research group explains results from a year-long field study of families dealing with Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders. The demo senses sudden declines in social contact and visually tracks a person's daily interaction with others through sensors embedded throughout a home. The prototype uses a screen phone to manipulate the sensor-delivered data to provide rich contextual cues, such as who is calling, when the parties last spoke and what was discussed. Intel plans to begin home trials of this sensor network in the second half of 2004.

A second exhibit, "Caregiver's Assistant and CareNet Display: Making Eldercare Easier," detects, collects and records data through postage stamp–sized wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tags affixed to household objects to record the daily activities of an elder going about life. Ultimately the system could help manage everyday activities so that elders maintain independence while reducing the around-the-clock burden of caregivers.

At the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the CAST health care technology demonstrations by researchers include innovative approaches for:

	Tracking the social health of early Alzheimer's patients and helping them remember names and faces of their friends and family.
	Improving eldercare by detecting the activities of elders to determine if they are taking medications or eating properly.
	Using a TV to personalize a health coach application for people with heart problems.
	Detecting falls, medication usage, and sleeplessness with a home safety monitoring network.
	Sensing sleep patterns and weight using a "smart" bed to help detect health issues.
	Helping frail seniors in long-term care facilities walk more frequently and remember to take medications by using a robot.
	"Listening" to a person's footsteps and walking patterns for signs pointing to the development of Parkinson's disease.
	Helping patients monitor their health using remote telemedicine technologies to interact with their doctor from home.

"These cross-industry R&D investments make it clear that innovation in the area of home health technology is thriving in the United States, but it's also critical for government to get more involved in addressing the challenges that will come with the doubling of our senior population," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice president and chief technology officer. "With the backing of government resources, we all could do a better job of stimulating technology innovation that helps people and creates new business opportunities."

Researchers are evaluating a number of other potential uses for the teeny sensors, including applications in environmental monitoring, agriculture, wildlife biology*, public safety, structural engineering and manufacturing.

At the Sensor Network Applications Open House in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C., David Tennenhouse, vice president and director of research for Intel, explains how wireless sensor network technology also has extensive practical potential beyond the health care industry. Tennenhouse said that representatives from the U.S. government and leading universities should understand the ways in which wireless sensor networks could change the way people live, work and play. Several of the researchers' demos illustrate how tiny silicon-based sensing devices embedded into objects can accurately monitor the surrounding environment to:

	Monitor semiconductor manufacturing processes to reduce equipement failures by monitoring vibration
	Assist the elderly living in smart home systems to improve their quality of life
	Sense health activities such as fevers and sneezing to forewarn about epidemics
	Observe agricultural site climatic conditions to show that microclimates within a site are substantial and may impact agriculture
	Collect data easily for a better understanding of global environmental problems such as the international carbon budget and water resources
	Trace firefighters' paths within buildings to reduce risk of injury or death
	Improve eldercare by detecting the activities of an elders to determine if they are taking medications or eating properly

Ultimately, the researchers envision "smart" networks of miniature sensors (see graphic below) built into buildings, clothing, hospitals, factories, roads, farms, swimming pools, baby cribs and vehicles to form a proactive computing infrastructure that consumers around the globe will take for granted but can tap into anytime. But the research is in its infancy. Pursuing such a goal will require long-term collaboration among industry leaders, academia and government.

Bookmark the Intel research and development site and stay current with this and other news about Intel technology advancements.

Read the press release related to the activities Intel sponsored in Washington, D.C.

For more information about wireless sensor networks, select from the following links:

	Instrumenting the World: An Introduction to Wireless Sensor Networks
	Digital Home Technologies for Aging in Place
	Heterogeneous Sensor Networks
	Deep Networking: Intel® Mote
	Exploratory Research: A Future of Proactive Computing

Explore the backgrounds of some of the researchers, scientists, and other technologists providing fuel for Intel's proactive computing.