Functional evaluation of elderly patients is one key component in a comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. The increased workload and high costs associated to close and continuous monitoring in clinical settings may be counterbalanced by the application of ICT-supported remote follow-up. Although clinical parameters and questionnaires can be supported with smartphones and smart gadgets, physical performance trials pose a challenge for community-based approaches with difficulties arising from setting up trials, the lack of guidance and supervision. We developed an ultrasonic-based device to overcome all of these barriers and enable elderly people to perform the Timed Up-and-Go test in an autonomous and unsupervised setting. Moreover, we introduce an algorithm to verify the successful performance of the test in order to increase the reliability of the information provided.
Keywords: Frail Elderly; Geriatric assessments; Health monitoring; Telemedicine; Ultrasound.