Sovrinti Case Study

Out of House Metrics

Monitoring Out-of-the-House Time for Older Adults

Keeping track of how much time older adults spend outside their homes is crucial for helping them age in place. It gives insights into their health and safety. Changes in this pattern can signal potential issues that caregivers need to address. For instance, longer or shorter outings or going out more or less frequently could indicate mobility or cognitive challenges. Going out at night might suggest wandering behavior. The Sovrinti system passively monitors this, providing real-time detection and long-term data to help caregivers support older adults' independence.

Background: The Sovrinti system uses advanced technology to track the activities of individuals in their homes. In this case, it's being used by a large home care provider. The data spans around 3 months from a female client living alone in an apartment.

Results:

  • Sovrinti revealed consistent outing patterns over 3 months.

  • She typically went out once a day, averaging around 2 hours each time with most averaging around late morning, early afternoon.

  • No outings occurred during nighttime hours (11:30 pm – 5 am).

  • The older adult consistently took her cane during outings.

Possible Interventions

If the pattern changes (more frequent, longer, or less frequent outings), caregivers can investigate with the doctor, offer errand help, or discuss social activities to address potential health, mobility, or social isolation concerns. This proactive approach keeps clients safe and independent at home.

For Further Analysis

We have additional data like ambient light and events to provide more context to the outings. We can delve deeper into the client's activities before and after outings, the timing of her trips, and how caregivers assist her during these outings.

Figure 1: This graph shows a 5-week snapshot of the client's out-of-the-house activity using data from the cane's location-detection device. Blue segments indicate the cane in the dining room, while white gaps show when it's taken outside. This illustrates the client's mobility patterns and outing consistency.