The Smart-Insole Dataset: Gait Analysis Using Wearable Sensors with a Focus on Elderly and Parkinson's Patients.

Gait analysis is crucial for the detection and management of various neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. The identification of gait events is valuable for enhancing gait analysis, developing accurate monitoring systems, and evaluating treatments for pathological gait. The aim of this work is to introduce the Smart-Insole Dataset to be used for the development and evaluation of computational methods focusing on gait analysis. Towards this objective, temporal and spatial characteristics of gait have been estimated as the first insight of pathology. The Smart-Insole dataset includes data derived from pressure sensor insoles, while 29 participants (healthy adults, elderly, Parkinson's disease patients) performed two different sets of tests: The Walk Straight and Turn test, and a modified version of the Timed Up and Go test. A neurologist specialized in movement disorders evaluated the performance of the participants by rating four items of the MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. The annotation of the dataset was performed by a team of experienced computer scientists, manually and using a gait event detection algorithm. The results evidence the discrimination between the different groups, and the verification of established assumptions regarding gait characteristics of the elderly and patients suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Dementia Care Frameworks and Assistive Technologies for Their Implementation: A Review.

In this review, we focus on the various integrated care models that have been applied for the management of dementia patients. We explore the different types of assistive technologies (mobile, wearable, and home-based systems) for dementia care, with a special emphasis on technologies that involve or target the informal caregiver as end user. In an attempt to reveal the needs for information sharing, communication, and collaboration between people with dementia and caregivers involved in the effective and integrated management of the disease, we analyze the trends in research and development to date, we seek to understand and reflect upon the state of the art in assistive technologies for dementia, and we highlight domains that appear underexplored, in order to guide future research. We also explore the cost effectiveness of such technologies and integrated care models for the management of dementia patients and comment on current limitations and future trends and directions. Findings indicate the urgent need and the current lack of a comprehensive and cost-effective solution that will incorporate information system technologies for the provision of integrated care services to dementia patients and their informal caregivers.