Bluetooth-enabled in-home patient monitoring system: Early detection of Alzheimer´s disease

As the baby boom generation is aging, more and more people are diagnosed with Alzheimer´s disease, early detection of which is shown to be vital and necessary for better medical treatments and prolonging life expectancies. In this article we propose a Bluetooth-enabled in-home patient monitoring system, facilitating early detection of Alzheimer´s disease. We take advantage of shortrange Bluetooth communications for in-home patient location tracking, and the location information can then be recorded in a local database. With knowledge of the movement pattern of a patient, a medical practitioner is more likely to be able to determine whether a target patient is developing Alzheimer´s disease. We also conduct a feasibility study, and our study shows that the proposed in-home patient monitoring system is feasible and can be applied in practice. Our proposed e-healthcare solution is expected to facilitate medical treatments, improve the quality of life of senior people, and reduce healthcare costs.