Connecting aged care

Powertec Wireless Technology Pty Ltd
Friday, 26 March, 2021

In 2019 the world population exceeded seven billion people, of which about 800 million are considered elderly. Currently, according to The World Bank, about 9% of the world’s population consists of people aged above 65 years, many of whom require constant supervision because of health problems, among other reasons.

Many aged-care homes across the world provide accommodation and personal care for elderly people. Personal care includes assistance with making food, socialising, dressing, and taking medication. However, a care worker cannot replace a family, or provide care and comfort 24/7.

The challenge

Today, as the world is still in the grip of the COVID-19 crisis, countries across the globe are enforcing quarantine and social distancing measures. One of the most crucial actions is to limit access to older adults since they are in a group of people who might be affected the most.

However, relatives still need to communicate with their family members, and care workers must be able to provide essential health services. Because of this, internet-based IoT solutions for aged-care homes are growing in popularity. This includes health-monitoring devices such as blood pressure testing devices and portable, personal health-monitoring equipment. CCTV and smart-lock solutions are used to enable remote monitoring and access. Considering the importance of socialising, video conferencing with care workers and relatives is becoming the new norm. These solutions require stable, reliable and secure internet connectivity, which can be a challenge due to a lack of existing infrastructure, limited availability of network installers during the social distancing period, and technological competence of older adults.

The solution

The solution presented here revolves around a professional cellular router — the UR35, which provides essential connectivity for multiple health-monitoring, security and socialising devices. The internet source is 4G LTE, which the UR35 shares wirelessly to blood pressure detection and personal health monitoring devices, then forwards to remote health-monitoring centres. Wireless connectivity is used to connect the smart-lock system, which enables care workers and relatives to receive notifications and access the care home or their relative’s home in the case of an emergency. The UR35 provides wired access to CCTV cameras inside the home that enable visual monitoring to confirm if there is an emergency. With socialising forming an essential part of this solution, the router can provide secure WiFi service to smartphones and personal computers that can be used for video calls.

The benefits

Uninterruptable internet — UR35 is equipped with two SIM card slots, which enable two different operators to create reliable internet source with automated failover between Ethernet and Cellular.

WiFi — the UR35 series can connect up to 100 users at a time, with the ability to limit data consumption and create access restrictions.

Easy to use — Ursalink Device Hub provides easy setup, mass configuration, and centralised management of remote devices.

Why Powertec?

Powertec believes in a world where everyone can communicate and be connected no matter where they are, with the help of connected technologies. This case demonstrates how, using a single professional router and with the help of IoT and internet connectivity, better care can be provided to loved ones. The UR35 professional cellular router is deployed in the most complex industrial and public solutions that require critical connectivity, but is as easy to use as any consumer device on the market. In this case, it is an ideal and essential connectivity solution to improve the lives of people at risk during these difficult times.