IBM selected by Taiwan university to develop in-home health monitoring system

Ling Tung University of Taiwan has recently selected IBM to help them develop a health-care examination system that can be used at home (or anywhere) by elderly Taiwanese patients. The system is being developed in response to a program called Senior U-Care Flagship which was initiated by the Department of Industrial Technology under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Like many developed countries, including the United States, Taiwan is experiencing a quickly aging population. Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development forecasts that by 2025, more than 20% of the population will be over 65; estimates for the United States are about 19%.

The first phase of the homecare network developed by Ling Tung University will use IBM's software (Maximore Asset Management) to create a healthcare monitoring platform that will record vital patient data such as, height, weight, body temperature, pulse, blood glucose levels and heart functions. This data will eventually be used by other health care, social and government organizations to provide important feedback that will help the elderly and their families know when and how medical treatment can be provided.

According to Jhih-ming Chen, Director of the Department of Information Networking and System Administration at Ling Tung University, "The management of senior citizen's health requires monitoring, recording, maintenance, repair, follow-up and reporting, and these processes and related data are closely intertwined."