Aim 2: ONDRI@Home

Research in the home & community environment

ONDRI Aim 2 researchers continue pushing the boundaries of dementia research by using remote patient monitoring technologies in their studies.

These technologies allow researchers to monitor participants’ overall health and function – including behaviours like sleep and activity – as these participants go about their daily activities in their home and community environments.

The technologies employed in Aim 2 research vary, as usefulness and tolerance by participants is assessed: from sensors worn on the body, to questionnaires conducted online, to monitors found in the home, as examples.

The goal is to personalize care

Every person living with a neurodegenerative disease or the effects of stroke is unique, and their care should be too.

Benefit for the study participant

Wearables and other remote patient monitoring technologies track a person’s select health indicators over periods of time. These technologies note frequent (e.g. sleeping) and infrequent (e.g. falling) events. These data can be shared with the study participant, their care partner and their doctor, in order to help personalize their care.

The overarching focus is to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with the diseases studied.

Read about ONDRI’s customized reports here.

Supplementing in–clinic snapshots with data gathered in the home and community

Measurements taken at home can capture events (e.g. stress on the heart) that may not be evident during a clinic visit to a specialist or family doctor. When interpreted by a clinician, this multitude of data can show health-related events (e.g. falls) or changes in health status. These changes may indicate a need for intervention, for example, and can help guide management of the person’s disease.

Benefits for the system

Measurements captured over a long period of time can also benefit society on a systematic level by providing a more comprehensive view of a disease. These measurements can produce extensive data that can guide health services planning, and inform early diagnosis and timeliness of care.

Improving healthcare access over time

People living with neurodegenerative diseases or the effects of stroke require care from physicians and other healthcare professionals. Some factors, such as distance and long wait periods, may impact a person’s ability to access the healthcare they require. ONDRI’s study protocols will allow people to more easily participate in research by collecting data remotely that can be relayed to the participants, their care partner(s) and their physician(s).

For ONDRI’s HANDDS-ONT study, currently recruiting, click here.

For Aim 2 publications, click here and here

ONDRI’s four guiding aims: