Smart Button: A wearable system for assessing mobility in elderly

Continuous advances in sensors, semiconductors, wireless networks, mobile and cloud computing enable the development of integrated wearable computing systems for continuous health monitoring. These systems can be used as a part of diagnostic procedures, in the optimal maintenance of chronic conditions, in the monitoring of adherence to treatment guidelines, and for supervised recovery. In this paper, we describe a wearable system called Smart Button designed to assess mobility of elderly. The Smart Button is easily mounted on the chest of an individual and currently quantifies the Timed-Upand- Go and 30-Second Chair Stand tests. These two tests are routinely used to assess mobility, balance, strength of the lower extremities, and fall risk of elderly and people with Parkinson´s disease. The paper describes the design of the Smart Button, parameters used to quantify the tests, signal processing used to extract the parameters, and integration of the Smart Button into a broader mHealth system.