Nigel M. Barnes

Remotely supporting care provision for older adults

The inclusion of remote monitoring as an element of care provision packages for older adults (telecare) has the potential to significantly augment traditional social care. In this paper, we discuss the use of ambient, and integrated ambient and body sensing, for telecare applications. Work is described on creating ambient solutions which are sufficiently flexible to be effective for a broad range of individuals. Further to this, recent and future developments within the telecare domain are discussed. In the future, monitoring systems are likely to exploit an integrated ambient and body sensor approach in order to address a wider range of needs. In this paper we provide example scenarios which highlight the potential of an integrated ambient and body sensor approach

Holistic monitoring to support integrated care provision Experiences from Telecare trials and an introduction to SAPHE

This paper provides an overview of the benefits that may be obtained by health care providers from the deployment of a social care oriented Telecare system focused on the non-invasive, ambient monitoring of individualspsila activity within their homes. The paper reports findings from Telecare deployments within Liverpool UK and discusses the benefits of a holistic monitoring approach, combining ambient and wearable monitoring, to support the provision of integrated care. This approach is currently being undertaken within a UK Government supported collaborative research project SAPHE which is introduced.

Rapid, supervised training of a two-layer, opto-electronic neural network using simulated annealing

Abstract We have demonstrated for the first time the supervised training of a two-layer opto-electronic neural network using simulated annealing. Our training strategy only accepts solutions which are tolerant to noise in the network. Any 3-bit logic function can be reproduced with training times of a few tens of seconds.

A trial of telecare for supporting care to the elderly in Liverpool

A pilot telecare system was trialled in Liverpool. It was used to support the provision of care to 21 of the city councils elderly and frail social services clients. A typical installation consisted of about 20 wireless, ambient sensors in the clients home. A home gateway device ran alerting algorithms designed to learn the normal patterns of user behaviour and to identify deviations from this in real-time. When deviations were detected, social service delivery teams were alerted to a possible cause for concern. The pilot service ran for about 30 months and included a period of examination by independent evaluators. The evaluation found that overall the people who used the service – both users and carers – were overwhelmingly pleased with it and viewed it as a great success.

Parallel interconnection and neural network systems employing semiconductor array technology and computer-generated holography

An experimental 16-channel parallel interconnection system able to support 100 Mbits−1 per channel and an opto-electronic neural network operating at up to 50 Mbits−1 have been constructed to demonstrate the potential of optics in processing systems. Both experiments operate at a wavelength of 1.5μm. Components developed for these systems include arrays of InGaAs/InP MQW surface modulators for low-power electrical-to-optical conversion; InGaAs/InP for detector arrays, which are hybrid integrated with GaAs amplifier arrays; and computer-generated holograms for efficient beam splitting and to encode weights in the optical beam intensities. Each of these demonstrations has considerable scope for increasing the degree of parallelism and the operating speed. Recent modifications to the neural network enable the weights to be varied and training has been demonstrated with a novel algorithm that uses the high operating speed to advantage.