Physiological Signals Monitoring Assistive Technology in Interaction with Machines to Address Healthy Aging.

Abstract

In this paper, development of age-friendly services and settings in interaction with machines that is among the WHO recommended strategies is addressed. In healthy aging, mental wellbeing plays an important role while over 20% of people in the age group of 60 years and above are affected by mental wellbeing issues worldwide. Mental wellbeing problems have an impact on physical health and vice versa and could cause severe illness. Life stressors are among the main contributors for mental wellbeing problems. People in the mentioned age group are more exposed to life stressors specifically during pandemic. Early stress detection and mood swings could potentially help better mental wellbeing that is currently mainly relying on self-reports which is very biased and subjective. Also, traditionally physiological measure of stress quantified by levels of cortisol requires laboratory settings. Therefore, the need for assistive technologies that addresses early detection and awareness of experienced stress, while providing suitable actions is addressed in this paper for the purpose of mental wellbeing issues caused by stress in everyday life without dependence on laboratory settings for the purpose of healthy aging.