Active-H2O: Sensor driven smart faucet to empower independent living for individuals impacted by Alzheimers disease and dementia - Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive brain disorder affecting cognitive/functional abilities, including ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Globally, >47M individuals live with dementia, with new incidence of 7.7M annually. Progressive symptoms include memory loss, loss of motor skills, difficulty sequencing ADL subtasks, and lack of motivation for task initiation. Interestingly, many key ADLs are directly associated with water access, providing an opportunity for targeted tech to improve accessibility & compliance. For example, medication mismanagement is a common and concerning risk factor in people with dementia (PwD), as it leads to undertreatment of disease, emergency room visits, hospital admissions/readmissions, & serious adverse events. In the U.S., 3M older adults are admitted to nursing homes due to drug-related adherence problems with annual cost exceeding $14B. Other water-based ADL challenges including drinking, showering, cooking, grooming, & hair washing. Keeping older adults aging at home is challenging, as caregivers are not available 24/7 & external care costs can be prohibitive. The Active-H2O smart faucet, being developed by Nasoni, LLC, will solve these challenges by intelligent sensor integration, automated flow/pressure/temperature adjustment, intuitive task reminders and control algorithms, & a connected, cloud architecture to improve independent living for PwD. The smart faucet design delivers water through either traditional downward spout, upward fountain delivery, or extended height for hair washing allowing a single faucet to be used by all in a household. System design will integrate a sensor suite (proximity, speaker, & camera) calibrated based on individual need. Intelligent algorithms will remind users to complete ADL’s, provide step by step guidance, and automatically activate & adjust faucet position/flow/pressure/temperature for given task. Additionally, computer vision will confirm task completion, assist users with task guidance, and monitor compliance. The project will build on an existing Nasoni faucet targeted to individuals impacted by spinal cord injury, in which a technical foundation including flow control & sensors have been designed/prototyped, control algorithms verified, & validated for usability. This Phase II project will modify the faucet with features to specifically support water-based ADLs in PwD. First, faucet form factor will be enhanced with adjustable height & water pressure to support an array of tasks including hydration, grooming, hair washing, & medication management. Next, intelligent algorithms using computer vision will be developed and validated for detecting ADL intention, dynamically adjusting faucet parameters, and capturing user ADL compliance. Once the platform is validated in an early pilot usability study, the design will be scaled for manufacturing, transferred to quality system production, and tested per compliance and regulatory standards. Finally, a first article production run of devices will be evaluated in field efficacy study.
