E- Medical Primary Care System for Alzheimer’s Patients (ALZ-e-MED)

Project Title 42

E- Medical Primary Care System for Alzheimer’s Patients (ALZ-e-MED)

BYS Grup

Türkiye

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)

EU Framework Programme 7 Lead Era Programme

COMPLETED

Phase 1: December 2012 – September 2019

Phase 2: October 2019 –December 2021

Phase 3: January 2022 – May 2023

BYS Grup

Developed as an R&D project, Alz-e-Med serves for the Alzheimer’s patients and their relatives. With Alz-e-Med, in order to ensure the continuity of the physical and psychological wellness of the Alzheimer's patients, primary health and care service can be provided at home. Alz-e-Med, created by utilizing information and communication technologies (ICT), will help to facilitate the challenges of daily life for the Alzheimer's patients to live independently in their own homes. Through digital skills introduced to the users in a tablet, Alz-e-Med will create value for primary health care services at home. The system will also be installed on the Smart TV infrastructure and it will be an integrated software system that consists of three modules, Health Module, Rehabilitation Module and Training/Caregiver Module. 

The most important goal of Alz-e-Med is that with the help of information and communication technologies (ICT), Alzheimer's patients’ quality living will be achieved. Alz-e-Med will have the following impacts; 

• Innovative interactions with related ICT products 
• Providing solutions to broad strategic, social, environmental and economic challenges caused by Alzheimer's 
• Strong-healthy elderly population 
• Creation of appropriate framework conditions for Alzheimer's patients and their families 
• Ensuring that the measures to be implemented taken concurrently with the public policy via Alz-e-Med data analysis 

In order patients to be able to access to the public transportation services, the GIS portal has been developed and included within the tablet. Based on the location-based information received from Alzheimer Patient, the web-based command control system can monitor the location of the patient and their caregivers. This portal contributes to the mobility of Alzheimer Patients. 

The developed System consisted of Basic Functions as listed below, which contributed the digitization of care-giving processes: 

• Cognitive and Mental Exercises: They help memory development, object recognition, and display of behaviour conforming to social life by the patient with measurements of attention and arithmetic and spatial functions. 
• Medicine Reminding Service and Management: It is ensured that the medicines used by the patient are recorded and followed up. Detailed medicine records are possible. 
• Easy Follow-up by the Doctor: Important parameters such as the mental condition of the patient, the nurse’s aide details, and detailed medicine follow-up can be easily followed up from distance. 
• Training Videos for Nurse’s Aides: Through videos guiding nurse’s aides in the process of care for the Alzheimer’s disease and put into scenarios by specialist doctors, it is ensured that the patient receives the right care while the nurse’s aide does his job correctly. 
• • Daily Activities Reminding Service: This is the social activities, planning and agenda application. 

Phase 1 Activities:

• Research, Design, Development the mobile software 
• Design and creation of the database in ORACLE 11G 
• Establishment of connection between the client and Server using MVC framework 
• Development of Software in Android Operating System, JDK6+ for Mobile Software development; in C#, .NET for Web Development 
• Conducting field research to collect initial indicators. 
• Development of a portal for dissemination of statistical outputs 
• Identifying requirements on current legislation in Turkey and EU regarding data and information security of users and making required adjustments 
• Development of a website  
• Training the pilot staff for usage of IT system 

The work packages are: 

• WP1 - Preparation Work Package 
• WP2 - 1^st Version Analysis Work Package 
• WP3 - 1^st Version Design Work Package 
• WP4 - 1^st Version Development Work Package 
• WP5 - 1^st Version Test and Pilot Work Package 
• WP6 – 2^nd Version Analysis Work Package 
• WP7 - 2^nd Version Design Work Package 
• WP8 - 2^nd Version Development Work Package  
• WP9 - 2^nd Version Test and Pilot Work Package 

Phase 2 Activities:

• Technology transfer to R&D firms;
• Training and capacity building activities for the usage of ALZ-e-MED application.

Phase 3 Activities:

• Technology transfer to R&D firms