Researchers are investigating ways to automate processes in care homes and to ease the workload of care staff through the use of assistive systems

Oldenburg. How can sensors, real-time data and automation be used to improve the quality of care in care homes, and to what extent can concepts from industry be applied to care settings? Researchers at University Medicine Oldenburg (UMO) are now investigating this in a care home for older people. For a care home in Ganderkesee, they are creating a digital twin that will enable them to model the impact of technical innovations on standard care home procedures in advance on a computer. This will give them an assessment of whether innovations are suitable for reducing the workload on staff and improving care. A further aim is to strengthen regional businesses in the care sector through technological innovations. The European Union and the state of Lower Saxony are funding the research with 1.6 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.

Prof. Dr Andreas Hein, a robotics expert and engineer in the university’s Department of Health Services Research, heads the team. The team also includes nursing scientist Prof. Dr Rebecca Palm, nutritionist PD Dr Rebecca Diekmann, medical ethicist Prof. Dr Mark Schweda, general practitioner prof. Dr Michael Freitag (all also from the Department of Health Services Research) and virologist prof. Dr Axel Hamprecht from the Department for Human Medicine. Together, as part of the ‘Industry 4.0 meets Care Home’ (I4mP) project, they are creating a digital twin of the Wichernstift care home in Ganderkesee. In this virtual environment, the team aims to test the effects of innovations based on sensor technology, real-time data, networking, automation and intelligent systems – in other words, technologies that have long been established in industry.

Rather than optimised mass production, the researchers are focused on providing better and more personalised care in care homes – analogous to single-unit production in Industry 4.0. The need is enormous: “The number of people requiring care already stands at 5.7 million, of whom just under 800,000 live in care homes, and the trend is rising. The fact that the number of available care staff is falling at the same time is creating a gap between care needs and the quality of care that can actually be provided,” explains Hein.

I4mP therefore focuses on technical solutions designed to help relieve the burden on the remaining care staff. In simulations, for example, the researchers are testing how workflows change when care staff are supported by robotic assistance systems when repositioning residents. The researchers are also investigating the use of connected exercise equipment to determine whether this enables people to exercise independently and thus maintain their mobility. Digital sensors attached to tableware or placed in the environment are used to record residents’ food and fluid intake. Other sensors measure their sleep quality. The team is also investigating the extent to which wastewater testing for viruses and bacteria helps to detect infections at an early stage and prevent widespread transmission. Such automated data collection and analysis could, not least, ease the burden on care staff by, for example, relieving them of documentation duties or preventing outbreaks of illness.

The project builds on numerous previous studies by researchers in Oldenburg – such as the Care Innovation Centre (PIZ), which researches new, needs-based care and assistance technologies, or the ‘Future Health Laboratory’, funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science, in which the University of Oldenburg is involved. “This has already given us excellent insights into the processes within a care home,” explains Hein. This in-depth practical knowledge can now be incorporated into the modelling of the digital twin and the development of new processes.

contact

Prof. Dr Andreas Hein, email: