{"id":12367,"date":"2025-05-13T09:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T14:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12367"},"modified":"2025-05-13T09:06:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T14:06:10","slug":"app-under-development-at-uw-madison-could-make-it-easier-more-affordable-to-age-in-place","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/app-under-development-at-uw-madison-could-make-it-easier-more-affordable-to-age-in-place\/","title":{"rendered":"App under development at UW-Madison could make it easier, more affordable to \u2018age in place\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Graduate student Dowon Lee demonstrates a new app that the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) and Kinesiology professors are developing that users could use to get recommendations for retrofitting their homes with mobility\/accessibility in mind as a free alternative to expensive in-person assessments. Photo: Bryce Richter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison researchers are using augmented reality to make the homes of older adults safer. Their innovation will not only streamline a sometimes clunky process but also support a more affordable and community-based approach that can reach more people.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an urgent issue: Older adults in Wisconsin have the\u00a0greatest chance<\/a>\u00a0of death after a fall. And as people live longer and healthier lives, the number of older adults in the U.S. is growing quickly. It\u2019s estimated that, within the next decade, one out of every three households in America will be\u00a0headed by someone 65 or older<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This means \u201canything we do to prevent falls is really important,\u201d says Ann Albert, the executive director of Wisconsin-based nonprofit\u00a0AgeBetter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One way to improve safety is through a home assessment, which looks at the current state of a home and recommends building alterations that support people whose functionality levels are changing \u2014 things like adding grab bars in the shower or a ramp to the front door entryway.<\/p>\n

Along with improved safety, adaptations like this can make everyday tasks easier with less help needed from others, improving people\u2019s overall well-being and quality of life.<\/p>\n

AgeBetter\u2019s\u00a0Safe at Home<\/a>\u00a0program, offered at no cost, is one such program in Wisconsin that offers free or low-cost home safety assessments to prevent falls and, following the assessment, provides recommendations and connects participants with building professionals and other helpful community resources.<\/p>\n

But without these programs, getting a home safety assessment can be prohibitively expensive, often costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Additionally, the availability of professionals to perform an assessment in less urban areas is often limited. For many older adults, their best option is to be approved for home health services, which requires an order by a medical doctor and a waiting list or a requirement that the person is homebound.<\/p>\n

Enter the\u00a0Augmented Reality Home Assessment Tool<\/a>, or ARHAT. Currently in prototype form, the tool takes users through a step-by-step process that measures relevant parts of a living space and offers suggestions to make it more accessible.<\/p>\n

The project team is led by design studies department chair and professor\u00a0Jung-hye Shin<\/a>; design studies professor\u00a0Kevin Ponto<\/a>, also a faculty member in the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery\u2019s virtual environments group; and\u00a0Beth Fields<\/a>, an occupational therapist and associate professor in the kinesiology department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time Jung-hye had us all do the paper and pencil version of the assessment, I thought, whatever we do with this project is going to be better than the status quo,\u201d Ponto says. \u201cIt\u2019s brutal to go through these questionnaires and forms and try to translate them and figure out how it works. That\u2019s where we saw an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

An ARHAT user is prompted to choose from 14 common functional limitations \u2014 things like visual impairment, poor balance or wheelchair use \u2014 and then select the areas of the home to evaluate, such as the entryway, the kitchen and the bathroom. Follow-up questions and prompts for measurements are tailored to the user\u2019s answers, with the option to add notes and take photos.<\/p>\n

Then, the tool uses a LiDAR scanner \u2014 technology built into every iPhone and iPad Pro since 2020 \u2014 to measure elements in the home. (ARHAT also allows users to input manual measurements.) By superimposing visuals in the space as seen through the device\u2019s camera, the tool will instantly let you know if something in the home is an accessibility barrier.<\/p>\n

At the end of the assessment, a detailed report including a list of measured barriers, relevant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines and suggested design solutions is generated. The report will also include any notes or photos the user added while taking measurements, and it can be exported as a PDF.<\/p>\n

Using ARHAT is faster and more accurate than manual measurements, according to\u00a0the team\u2019s research<\/a>. It\u2019s also much easier to use, and people involved in the testing felt much more confident about their measurements, which Ponto calls \u201ca huge win in terms of what this technology has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ponto and Shin came to the project through an interest in improving accessibility in physical spaces and supporting \u201caging in place\u201d efforts, or an older adult\u2019s ability to stay in their own home as they age \u2014\u00a0an option many older adults would prefer<\/a>. Fields, who also does pro bono work for AgeBetter, came aboard later to offer input from an occupational therapist\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought what they were doing, as far as the tech and the design aspects of the mobile-based app, was really innovative and could be really beneficial to clinicians like myself in the field,\u201d Fields says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Design studies PhD student\u00a0Dowon Lee<\/a>\u00a0and mechanical engineering alumnus\u00a0Ren Chang<\/a>\u00a0were key contributors to the tool\u2019s current iteration, and students, alumni and staff from the School of Human Ecology and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery have helped develop the tool\u2019s augmented reality elements and tested its functionality.<\/p>\n

ARHAT\u2019s developers are currently targeting the tool for use by occupational therapists and similar professionals \u2014 their research showed some older adults had difficulties getting the tool up and running on a device and with things like the \u201cpinch to zoom\u201d function.<\/p>\n

The team plans to test an updated version of the tool with older adults and their families this fall. They hope virtually anyone will be able to use a future iteration \u2014 ideally one available through the Apple app store.<\/p>\n

With ARHAT progressing, professionals are enthusiastic about what such a tool will mean for them and the people they serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that you can use your phone and do all of those measurements digitally versus manually will be such a time saver, and a cost saver for health care agencies and systems, because you\u2019re going to be able to be more efficient,\u201d Fields says.<\/p>\n

AgeBetter\u2019s Albert agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty remarkable that it can be done so simply and someone can get that information in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Hannah Black<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.wisc.edu\/app-under-development-at-uw-could-make-it-easier-more-affordable-to-age-in-place\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison researchers are using augmented reality to make the homes of older adults safer. Their innovation will not only streamline a sometimes clunky process but also support a more affordable and community-based approach that can reach more people. It\u2019s an urgent issue: Older adults in Wisconsin have the\u00a0greatest chance\u00a0of death after a fall. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[103],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12367","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-madison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12367"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}