Smart beds and motion sensors - is this the future of dementia care?

ByNat WrightSenior Health Producer  and Jim ReedHealth reporter

There are sensors in every room of Jyoti and Bharat Patel's home. Their movements and habits are monitored constantly.

But this doesn't worry them, in fact it gives them peace of mind.

Jyoti was diagnosed with dementia five years ago, and they are now part of an NHS trial using high-tech devices to help patients live at home safely.

The couple, who are in their 70s, are one of more than 250 families participating in the project by the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI).

The hope is that the technology could be extended more widely across the health service, to reduce preventable trips to hospital and give families peace of mind.

Bharat and Jyoti met at a magic show in 1977 and became a double act, with their career leading them to meet King Charles and Princess Anne as well as a host of celebrities.

In 2019, Bharat started noticing that Jyoti was making uncharacteristic mistakes on stage.

"Normally she used to set my stage up and everything was perfect, but I saw something I was looking for and it wasn't there, so I thought something is wrong," he said.

They went to a private health specialist who diagnosed Jyoti with Alzheimer's in 2021.

Jyoti says when she went out, if she did not look around her, she would find that she was lost.

"I didn't know it [was] dementia but I knew it was something which [was] unusual," Bharat says.

In 2023, they were approached by the team at UK Dementia Research Institute and Imperial College London to take part in the trial, which is funded by the medical research charity LifeArc.

Their house in west London is now fitted with different sensors, which are connected via the internet, that send data back to a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and other clinical specialists.

The team then uses the information to better understand how the person is managing their daily routine, identify early signs of changing health and care needs with the hope that they can maintain independence for longer.

Door sensors detect if someone leaves in the middle of the night, movement is monitored to check for signs of a fall, while kitchen appliances are fitted with sensors to check whether Jyoti has eaten and is sticking to her daily routine.

The couple sleep on a "smart mattress" to track sleep disturbances and Jyoti's heart and breathing rates, which can spot early signs of an infection.

Alongside this trial, Jyoti is also testing out smart socks and a special watch that also contain sensors to monitor her body temperature and keep track of any long-term changes in her gait - indicating frailty.

How much will it cost and is it worth it?

Costs are expected to be about £2,000 a year, mainly to cover the monitoring and paying healthcare staff to analyse the data.

If rolled out more widely that could be a significant amount of money with almost a million people living with dementia in the UK.

But Sarah Daniels, health and social care lead at the UK Dementia Research Institute, says the cost is no more than a couple of weeks in a care home.

The main aim, she says, is to give earlier signals to health and social care professionals.

"Earlier signals means earlier intervention, which means we can head potential complications of an infection, potential challenges around care, we can head that off before it becomes a crisis," says Daniels.

None of the devices record sound or video, protecting the individual's privacy, however, some people may feel nervous about the amount of data they are allowing other people to access.

Daniels argues that by enhancing the level of information you provide to your GP, it enables them to make better decisions about your care.

The number of people with dementia in the UK is expected to climb by another 40% by 2040, so the hope is to extend it more widely across the health service.

Dr Jeremy Isaacs, national clinical director for dementia and older people's mental health at NHS England, said the health service would be closely monitoring the trial and said the research built on NHS programmes which were already supporting people to remain more independent in their own homes.

While some people might feel uneasy about having all these sensors in their home, Bharat says they give him greater "peace of mind".

"Even if it can cut down my worries by 5 or 10%, then it helps me and it will help other people too," he says.