Bluetooth IoT for Senior Care

IoT senior care solution providers are currently leveraging the advantages of Bluetooth. However, many find the scalability of their IoT senior care solutions constrained by Bluetooth range and one-to-one connectivity. Moreover, senior care professionals note, connectivity – to care and caring people – is at the core of improving IoT senior care. With that in mind, Cassia Networks’s connectivity innovation – long-range Bluetooth and one-to-many Bluetooth capabilities – is providing seamless connectivity at the core of IoT senior care.

Deployment of IoT senior care solutions based on traditional IoT connectivity options is complicated by high-costs, power requirements, battery life, ease-of-use issues, regulatory requirements, and a need for customization for seniors with physical or mental limitations. Meanwhile, the need for IoT senior care solutions is growing quickly as the population of seniors grows.

In fact, the “unprecedented rate” of older people worldwide, is doubling to 1.6 billion people by 2050, according to a 2016 report by the National Institutes of Health. Further, AARP points to a “caregiving cliff” as the ratio of the adults available to provide care to seniors drops to 4:1 by 2030.

Ultimately, the promise of IoT senior care solutions is the delivery of better senior care to seniors. Cassia Networks long-range Bluetooth IoT connectivity and analytic capabilities are enabling IoT senior care solution providers to ease the delivery of person-centered care, preserve aging in place options, and enhance the dignity of senior living.

Due to its long battery life, ultra-light, low cost, and worldwide standardization, Bluetooth low energy (LE) is a preferred IoT senior care solution for: senior wearables, remote diagnostics, emergency responder monitoring and response, and smart senior homes and communities. Moreover, as a worldwide standard, Bluetooth is easy to customize and is shipped yearly in the billions: in phones, computers, pads, tablets, and sensors, driving innovation in elder care.

And yet, Bluetooth’s previous range and one-to-one connectivity limitations, were constraints to scalability of IoT senior care solutions, and the mobility of seniors.

Cassia Networks delivery of long-range Bluetooth routers is shifting the IoT senior care Bluetooth LE connectivity landscape with:

• 1000 feet of range, three walls of penetration,
• bi-directional pairing up to 40 devices, and in broadcast mode several hundred devices

IoT senior care solutions now have the advantages of Bluetooth LE, plus with long-range and one-to-many connectivity.

Cassia Networks works closely with senior living facilities and senior health solution providers to provide integrated safety and health solutions for both assisted living facilities and end users. By eliminating the limitations of Bluetooth, Cassia’s long-range Bluetooth routers, and IoT access controller (AC), combine with IoT senior care solution providers for delivering in-home and senior living facilities care options.

• The Cassia long-range Bluetooth router connects to smart health monitoring devices developed by IoT senior care solution providers
• The long-range Bluetooth router collects data from the the Bluetooth monitoring devices. It then sends the data to the Internet or a local server, and an application. For example, an auto fall detection sensor sends data of a fall triggering an alert, or a panic button alert is pushed sending an alert to a friends-and-family list via SMS messaging.
• A senior care professional or registered nurse (RN) monitors device data in real-time from multiple users simultaneously

• Constant Monitoring – ability to monitor multiple seniors at the same time and provide caregivers and nurses easy access to data in real-time
• Seamless Coverage – Cassia long-range Bluetooth routers completely cover a senior care or assisted living facility
• Mobility – Seamless coverage allows seniors to move freely throughout their living space or care facility and remain connected to a monitoring solution
• Easy Deployment / Management – use centralized Cassia IoT access controller (AC) software platform to setup and manage hundreds of long-range Bluetooth routers and hundreds or thousands of end monitoring devices
• Easy-to-Use – Senior don’t need to use costly, complicated tablets or iPads to capture data
• Compliance improvements – Seamless, real-time data gathering automates and improves compliance
• Auto Fall Detection – devices auto-detect falls by seniors and sends an SMS notification to a Friends List / Caregiver
• Panic Button – pressing a “panic button” on a device sends an SMS notification to Friends List / Caregiver for assistance
• Higher Performance – smart senior health monitoring devices is increased up to 1000+ feet open space or 3 home wall penetration
• Multiple Device Monitoring – connect and control up 40-Bluetooth LE devices per router, or listen to hundreds of devices in Broadcast mode
• Lowered Costs – longer range increases “connection density” lowering IoT senior care solution costs
• Stable Environment – devices stay connected to Cassia long-range Bluetooth router at a distance
• Security – end-to-end device security supported
• Bluetooth Locationing – track senior movement throughout a facility for quick emergency responses
• Data Collection – collect patient vital signs without the need of a registered nurse