Taiwan Today

Digital tools enhance eldercare and support caregivers.
 

Every year, as spring turns to summer, one of the world’s foremost computer technology trade shows takes place in Taipei City. Computex, organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taipei Computer Association, both based in the capital, featured 1,500 exhibitors showcasing the newest developments in domains like artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced connectivity for 2024. An impressive lineup of industry speakers like Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) delivered keynote speeches. The Taiwan-born CEO of U.S.-based Nvidia Corp. founded what is currently one of the world’s most valuable companies and told Computex attendees at the beginning of June that health care is an ideal field to explore innovative AI applications. Waiting in the wings was another TAITRA-organized show that homed in on eldercare. Medical Taiwan: International Medical, Health & Care Expo at the end of June showcased a range of AI-assisted products and services and specifically focused on AI solutions for health monitoring and diagnosis in the senior demographic.
 

These visions dovetail with a government initiative to enhance the efficiency of eldercare as part of the Executive Yuan’s Age-Tech Industry Action Plan, approved in September 2023. Dr. Wayne Sheu (許惠恒), one of the project’s leaders, is vice president of the state-backed National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) in northern Taiwan’s Miaoli County. “Taiwan’s expertise in information and communications technology combines with its existing strengths in medical-related fields to give it a major advantage in incorporating digital and smart components into long-term care services and related products,” Sheu said.
 

Dr. Hsu Chih-cheng (許志成), executive director of NHRI’s National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research, agreed and pointed out that industrial R&D and manufacturing capabilities are great strengths of Taiwan’s advanced industry. “The gap between designer and user is where we come in,” Hsu said. “Our job is to bridge things from the user’s perspective, whether they be caregivers, or elderly or disabled persons themselves.”

Open Dialogue

Last year the NHRI launched a program to introduce smart technology into eldercare and health promotion services at five day care centers and nursing homes around the country. More locations were added this year, and Hsu said there are plans to keep expanding. “We began by listening to what care facilities wanted, then went over those needs with a team of academics and specialists before matching each with a company whose expertise will be most effective,” Hsu said. At Kaohsiung Municipal Minsheng Hospital’s long-term care facility in the southern city, staff attached sensors to mattresses to monitor and analyze occupants’ breathing and movement, including whether they were spending too much time lying down. At a center in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, gaming systems were introduced to provide seniors with a stimulating method of cognitive training.
 

Among the technology in development at NHRI, two projects focus on language. The first is a speech recognition solution for dementia detection in the early stages of cognitive impairment, while the second makes use of a large language model to help caregivers understand Indigenous patients. “The goal is to give caregivers another tool to respond quickly and effectively to patients’ needs,” said NHRI researcher Lin Chueh-ho (林玨赫).
 

The NHRI won a National Innovation Award from the state-backed Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry in 2022 for an AI-assisted laser imaging system that detects blood circulation around a wound to monitor the healing process. Liao Lun-de (廖倫德), deputy director of NHRI’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine, explained that older patients with diabetes or burn injuries tend to make slower progress. “This imaging technique could help practitioners in remote areas with fewer medical resources,” he said. Though Liao’s and Lin’s tools are still being refined as they undergo clinical trials, both researchers are optimistic about the widespread application of their projects, especially in the care sector.

Making Connections

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MOHW) Center for Assistive Technology Resources and Popularization facilitates public-private partnerships combining academia, business and government entities. Since its founding in 2001, the center has helped set up 40 county- and city-level facilities around the country to integrate information and resources on assistive devices. It is administered by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s Research Center on International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and Assistive Technology (RICFAT) in Taipei. Lee Shwn-jen (李淑貞) is an associate professor of physical therapy at the university and director of RICFAT. “We’ve built a platform that connects the devices’ users, designers and manufacturers, in addition to linking users to rental providers,” Lee said.
 

The professor also heads the Taiwan Alliance of Technology Industries in Smart Senior Living and Innovative Long-term Care, which comprises representatives from academic and medical institutions like RICFAT, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Taipei-based National Taiwan University Hospital, as well as state-backed and nongovernmental organizations. Many of these groups, along with a number of local and foreign companies, have joined the RICFAT-organized annual exhibition Taiwan Assistive Technology for Life, launched in 2016 in Taipei. In addition to forums on such issues as digital medicine and telecare, the event’s latest edition at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center in May spanned categories ranging from aids for independent living and home modifications to smart long-term care, stair climbing and transportation. “We want to help local companies stay competitive in the international market regardless of business model,” Lee said.
 

The innovative devices displayed at the Taipei show have been introduced to facilities like those operated by Yi-De-Fa Long-Term Care Group. The enterprise set up its first institutional care facility in 1994 in the central county of Changhua and also provides in-home and community-based eldercare services. The business tests new products’ efficiency and compatibility with a variety of users. “There’s a list of recommended eldercare products, and if we choose something on that list, we’re eligible for a subsidy,” CEO Lin Yu-kai (林宇凱) said. “If we see something useful that’s not on the list yet, we’ll tell the company that offers it to consider applying.” For example, at a nursing home in Changhua’s Yongjing Township, caregivers proposed adding a power-driven garment with inbuilt sensors that detect the wearer’s movements to ease lumbar burden when stooping or crouching, which they do frequently during care work.
 

In 2008 the government launched a 10-year program to transform Taiwan’s long-term care system. The MOHW-overseen policy has now proceeded to another 10-year stage with increased funding and high-tech assistance, including devices Lin has introduced. “We anticipate that such support will significantly reduce caregivers’ workloads, allowing them to focus on enhancing the quality of care,” he said.

Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw