Technology Trends: A focus on Sensors and Smart Materials in the domain of Care Applications

摘要

Mainstream technology development and application development focused on the domain of long-term care are expected to have a large potential for long-term care provision. If we know which care technology is underway, it is better possible to anticipate and adjust the technology under development to care demands. There are very few predictions on the use of technology in long-term care for people who have a chronic illness or disability. One of the reasons is that a sense of urgency developed only recently. It is now recognized that in the near future long-term care will be a burden upon society, due to a growing care demand from an ageing population. Another reason is that the technical tools to facilitate better cost-effective long-term care are becoming available now [1].