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Australia needs
an increased national focus on developing and applying smart technology for healthy
longevity, says a new report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences
and Engineering (ATSE).
This increased focus is
essential to realise the potential of smart technology to ensure a healthy,
safe, secure and fulfilling future for the increasing aged population in Australia
and the maintenance of a healthy, harmonious and prosperous society.
The report, which also says
national coordination and sustained R&D support are essential to make optimum
use of the available resources, was launched in Melbourne today by Professor
Margaret Sheil, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council.
The 100-page report came
from an Australian Research Council-funded study ATSE conducted in 2009, reviewing
the state of aged care technology in Australia and in Europe and using the expertise
of Academy Fellows and invited experts to provide an informed view of the future
situation of technology for ageing-in-place (continuing to live at home) in
Australia.
The study was led by Professor
Greg Tegart AM FTSE, together with Professors Terry Turney FTSE and Peter Hudson
FTSE, and a Steering Committee chaired by ATSE Vice President Mr Peter Laver
AM FTSE.
The report says a suite
of emerging innovative technologies offers the prospect of enhanced security,
safety, diagnosis, treatment and physical assistance to improve the quality
of life for elderly people, to help them remain at home, and to provide financial
savings in aged care and medical treatment.
It notes there is already
a substantial investment in R&D capacity in this area in Australia but more
needs to be done to maintain, strengthen and coordinate this activity and to
ensure that public and private aged care authorities and organisations can effectively
utilise the outcomes.
It says the Australian Government
has a critical role to play by promoting a national R&D agenda on technology
and ageing to complement the National Strategy on Ageing and the National Enabling
Technologies Strategy.
Ageing-in-place supported
by smart technologies offers the potential for substantial savings in residential
aged care and in reduced admissions to hospitals, by providing early alerts
to changing health patterns and by minimising falls and other accidents in the
home.
Many of these technologies
for elderly-friendly housing depend on information and communication technologies
to address social communications, personal health monitoring, telehealth, shopping
and education. While these can be installed in existing homes, future dwellings
will need to be custom-designed to incorporate such systems and to cater for
the lifelong needs of people.
It says there are opportunities
for business and industry to capitalise on the projected expanded markets, both
in Australia and overseas, offered by demographic change and development of
a national broadband system offers great opportunities for application of e-health
and for greater inclusion of the frail aged into society.
Because the elderly are
more frequent users of health services and because medical researchers are developing
new drugs and procedures linked to age, the Australian Government’s 2010
Intergenerational Report suggests that health spending on those aged over 65
is likely to increase sevenfold.
There will be a need for
new models of health care and training to deal with this situation and technology
can offer possible solutions to issues of safety and security, diagnosis and
treatment, while assistive technologies offer the potential to reduce costs,
the report says.
Because of the complexities
of the challenges that need to be addressed in applying technology to the aged,
it says there is a need to bring together a wide range of technologies to focus
on solutions.
The Australian Government
has recognised the value of this approach in the recently announced National
Enabling Technologies Strategy. The concept of enabling technologies brings
into convergence several technologies such as nanotechnologies, information
and communication technologies, biotechnology and cognitive science to focus
on areas of social, economic and technical importance.
The report notes that in
Europe their application to ageing is termed ‘gerontechnology’,
linking medical aspects of ageing (gerontology) with smart technologies to assist
in daily living. This is a well-established concept overseas that needs to be
promoted in Australia as a means to coordinate R&D activity in this area.
The report adds that there
are important social and ethical issues raised by the application of technologies
to aged people, who should be involved more deeply in defining their needs to
ensure optimum solutions.
Outcomes should be ‘demand-driven’
and not a result of ‘technology-push‘.
With closer linkages via
home communication systems there are increased opportunities for loss of privacy,
fraud and misuse of personal information, particularly with the frail aged.
The issue of privacy is a major one arising from the use of unseen monitoring
systems which report to a central base.
The Academy report says
these issues must be addressed in the development and application of enabling
technologies for the ageing.
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report
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