USU Computer Scientists Develop 'iWalker' to Aid Alzheimer’s Patients

Providing those whose cognitive abilities are failing a means of maintaining their mobility and independence is a challenge. Utah State University computer scientists are developing a specialized walker that could improve the quality of life for individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-causing illnesses.

“By 2030 one out of five Americans will be over the age of 65,” says Vladimir Kulyukin, assistant professor in USU’s Department of Computer Science and director of the Computer Science Assistive Technology Laboratory. “One of the faculties people lose with age is cognition.”

 

Kulyukin and doctoral student Aliasgar Kutiyanawala created the “iWalker” — or intelligent walker — to help cognitively impaired people complete basic tasks of everyday living. The pair is conducting the project in collaboration with AT Sciences, an assistive technology company based in Pittsburgh, Pa., the University of  Pittsburgh School of Nursing and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science.

 

Seed money for the project was provided by two USU Community University Research Initiative grants. Subsequent funding has come from a contract with AT Sciences and grants awarded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

 

“The intention of (the iWalker) is to take someone where they want to go,” Kulyukin says. “Perhaps you leave your room and, halfway there, you forget where you are and where you’re going. iWalker reminds you of where you are and the direction you’re traveling.”

 

The iWalker is a wheeled walker — or ‘rollator’ — and operates within a ‘smart world perspective.’ That is, its onboard computer provides visual and audible cues activated by sensors embedded in the user’s environment.

 

“As the iWalker rolls over a sensor under the carpet, it announces its location — such as ‘water cooler’ or ‘restroom,’ Kulyukin says.

 

In addition, the walker’s screen flashes a picture, words or an arrow with information about the location.

 

“The nurses collaborating on the project tell us that some patients react better to audible feedback and some react better to visual feedback,” he says.  

 

Kulyukin stresses that the iWalker is not a robot.

 

“It doesn’t think for itself,” he says. “Rather, it reads information from radio frequency identification (RFID) tags placed throughout the environment where it is used.”

 

The distinction is important, he says. iWalker was designed in this manner to keep its cost low.

 

“Other researchers have designed robots to assist the elderly but these devices are prohibitively expensive,” Kulyukin says.

 

The main cost with implementing the iWalker is installing RFID tags under carpeting and other flooring throughout a facility. But once the infrastructure is in place, the cost per user — a walker — is relatively inexpensive.

 

Clinical tests conducted with the iWalker at the University of Pittsburgh have received encouraging reviews.

 

“Both caregivers and users reacted positively to the device,” Kulyukin says. “They like the simplicity of iWalker.”

 

‘Simplicity’ was the aim of the project from its inception.

 

“We decided early on that building a smart device or a device that could avoid obstacles was unnecessary,” he says. “Most people with Alzheimer’s can see. They just need help remembering.”

 

And a little help can make a big difference as more people lose skills most of us take for granted.

 

The longer disabled individuals can maintain their independence the better, Kulyukin says.

 

 “Postponing the need for institutionalization reduces costs and it also enables people to remain longer in a home setting, if they choose.”

 

 

 

Contact: Vladimir Kulyukin [vladimir.kulyukin@usu.edu], 435-797-8163
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto [maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu], 435-797-1429