WLBZ reports on sensor technology research to help older adults stay at home

WLBZ (Channel 2) reported on research being conducted at the University of Maine that aims to help older adults stay in their homes longer. Students and professors are studying the use of sensors as a noninvasive way to track movement and monitor falls in the home. The sensors also are being used to study brain and sleep patterns to aid the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, according to the report. “The aging phenomenon is staring us straight in the face, and it’s time that we respond,” said Len Kaye, director of the University of Maine Center on Aging and professor in the UMaine School of Social Work. Rick Corey, director of operations at UMaine’s Virtual Environment and Multimodal Interaction (VEMI) Laboratory, gave a tour of the lab’s “apartment” that is used for the research, and Marie Hayes, a UMaine psychology professor, spoke about the sleep research she is leading, as well as the importance of working with other departments on campus.