Medical Monitoring for Independent Living: User-Centered Design of Smart Home Technologies for Older Adults

Formally involving users in the design of eHealth solutions can be beneficial. However, within the eHealth domain, the design process is often technology driven. In contrast, we present the need for and benefits of a user-centered approach to technology development. In addition, we argue that smart home environments, such as Georgia Tech’s Aware Home, Philips’ Home & CareLab and TNO/DUT’s Experience Labs, facilitate this approach. In this article, we describe two studies that were recently conducted in the Aware Home to examine monitoring in a home environment. One project involved a formative evaluation of the perceived needs and perceived benefits of using visual sensing systems within the homes of older adults. The other involved the usability evaluation of a computer assistant for the supervision of older diabetics’ self-care. Both evaluations suggested that older adults recognized the potential benefits of having these types of monitoring technologies in home environment.