In Scandinavia, Grandma Goes Hi-Tech

Tech firms are seeking solutions to help older communities in the region age with dignity.

STOCKHOLM — WITH sensors to detect obstacles, the ability to come when you call for it and a built in computer tablet, the LEA Care Robot is the elite sports car of walkers. It even has a built-in dance program for seniors who like to take a spin on the dance floor.

"We had a lot of fun, but I much prefer a real partner," says 85-year-old Ingegerd Näslund, who tested the robot for several weeks.

Her spin on the walker was part of a project in the Swedish municipality of Västerås evaluating new technology that can improve the quality of care for the elderly not just in Sweden but also in the other Nordic countries. With the number of seniors living longer on the rise, municipalities also are looking at technology to help cut costs and free up nurses and care staff.

"Why should we have a trained nurse or assistant nurse buy groceries or do a quick welfare check in the middle of the night when we could use technology instead," says Susanne Rolfner Suvanto, a government special investigator looking into the matter for Sweden.

Suvanto argues that while technology won't solve all the problems that come with an aging population, it definitely has an important role to play.

"I believe technology can be used for communication and a higher level of independence. We also can't let the digitalization pass several generations of people in this country."

By 2045, one-fourth of Sweden's population will be over the age of 65 and an estimated 1 million people will be over the age of 80, according to Statistics Sweden. This will likely put a significant strain on the country's wholly tax-funded care system. Though calculating the cost is difficult since seniors also are expected to be healthier for longer, some estimates suggest the price tag of caring for the elderly will increase by 270 percent. The situation is similar in neighboring Norway, Denmark and Finland.

"The need is basically the same; security, quality of life, independence. The systems in each country are a little different but there are a lot of similarities, so it makes sense to work together," says Kristoffer Riis, project manager at the Denmark-based Nordic Business and Living Lab Alliance, a project creating a network of municipalities in all four Nordic countries to solve the challenges facing senior independent living.

Many of the projects, like Ingegerd's "smart" walker, are part of a broader effort to find new solutions, bring the right device to the right market and lower costs across borders. While all Nordic countries have seen an impressive technological boom and digitalization in the recent decade, technology in the welfare sector has been slow to develop. As a result, older generations have increasingly been left behind as societies have gone digital.

One factor slowing quick adoption of technology for older citizens is the public procurement process, Riis says. Simply put, bureaucracy is slowing large-scale adoption. "When companies do develop solutions they tend to be small scale and very local."

But with senior citizens soon to make up one-fourth of the population, the market is becoming increasingly attractive for tech companies. One such company is Aifloo, which provides an artificial intelligence system that analyzes changes in people's behavior to monitor needs for help.

What started out as a platform with functions for in-store communications or intelligent climate control developed into a smart health care system that can track food intake, sleep patterns, heart rates and other daily habits. Changes could signal a problem.

"For example, if you are lying down for a long period of time in the kitchen, that might mean that you have fallen and can't get up," explains Aifloo co-founder Felix Etzler.

Another company, Pilloxa, has developed a smart medicine dispenser, which can track medicine intake, compare data with a symptom log and improve compliance.

And it's not just life-saving technology that's being developed. A group of 80-plus pensioners in Norrköping, southern Sweden, tested apps and games specifically developed for the elderly.

"The project was as success but, perhaps equally important, was that the participants were excited to learn new technology and felt more connected," says Ann-Christine Larsson, project manager for Testmiljö Norrköping

The goal is now to test two new products per year and so far everything from safety alarms with sensor to communications tools and cell phone applications to help family members coordinate care for older relatives have been rolled out.

But there are those doubting the cost-cutting effects of welfare technology and worry that seniors who are ill will be left with lots of technology but less human contact.

"We like to talk about technology but how we should pay for all of it is unclear," says Gösta Bucht, professor emeritus in geriatric medicine at Umeå University and representative for the Swedish Association for Senior Citizens.

Talk about raising the age of retirement from today's 65 or discuss alternative payment models is politically sensitive but necessary, he adds.

Additional reports have shown that many seniors feel isolated and lonely. For many the public care they receive, whether it is an hour per week for cleaning or several hours each day, is the only human contact they get.

And, despite its rapid progress, the technology still has ways to go. For Ingegerd she prefers her regular walker since many of the features on the robot were either not functioning properly or were too difficult to use even for an 85-year-old with a keen interest in technology.

"I had to have the technicians here all the time to help me fix it. So it is not for me."