They’re powered by AI, they’re washable, and they don’t require batteries. These are all things we didn’t think we’d say about socks.
SmartSocks are medical socks designed to detect anxiety in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Dementia. These socks are specifically designed to be used in care homes or at home, where people may not have a full-time primary caretaker.
According to a report, SmartSocks will be trialled in care homes in Dorset, a county in southwest England. SmartSocks are lined with sensors and are connected to an app on a smartphone. The sensors collect data from the wearer’s ankle and transmit it to the app, which in turn sends the information to a cloud platform, where machine learning algorithms analyze the data.
The SmartSocks are then analyzed by sophisticated algorithms whose patent is still pending. They figure out how likely it is that the person wearing them is in distress. If the AI software spots any kind of weirdness, it sends a notification to the app, and the care team can then take action and do what needs to be done.
In Dorset, it’s one of only a few areas to be tested. Care homes managed by Southern Healthcare – including Exeter’s Old Rectory – have tested socks on patients and “are satisfied with the ease of use”, according to a report.
The BBC spoke to Mr Piper, 65, who suffers from dementia and has been living at the Old Rectory from November 2022. He said he didn’t mind being used as a test subject. “I’m happy with anything that’s easy and improves our perspective on life,” he said.
SmartSocks are coming out in 2024, and it’s all thanks to the money that’s being given out under the digitising social care program.
RELATED STORIES
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/ai-powered-socks-assist-dementia-autism
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-67143306
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/health/other/ai-socks-to-help-people-with-dementia-and-autism/ar-AA1iulGP
https://www.electropages.com/blog/2022/05/researcher-develops-smart-socks-those-dementia-and-autism
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2022/may/smart-socks-could-help-dementia.html
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