Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre, Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, London, UK.
BMJ Open. 2023 May 22;13(5):e068756. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068756.
The prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among older adults is increasing exponentially. The sequelae can be severe in older adults and interact with age-related conditions such as multimorbidity. Despite this, TBI research in older adults is sparse. Minder, an in-home monitoring system developed by the UK Dementia Research Institute Centre for Care Research and Technology, uses infrared sensors and a bed mat to passively collect sleep and activity data. Similar systems have been used to monitor the health of older adults living with dementia. We will assess the feasibility of using this system to study changes in the health status of older adults in the early period post-TBI.
The study will recruit 15 inpatients (>60 years) with a moderate-severe TBI, who will have their daily activity and sleep patterns monitored using passive and wearable sensors over 6 months. Participants will report on their health during weekly calls, which will be used to validate sensor data. Physical, functional and cognitive assessments will be conducted across the duration of the study. Activity levels and sleep patterns derived from sensor data will be calculated and visualised using activity maps. Within-participant analysis will be performed to determine if participants are deviating from their own routines. We will apply machine learning approaches to activity and sleep data to assess whether the changes in these data can predict clinical events. Qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with participants, carers and clinical staff will assess acceptability and utility of the system.
Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the London-Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee (REC) (REC number: 17/LO/2066). Results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and inform the design of a larger trial assessing recovery after TBI.
老年人创伤性脑损伤（TBI）的患病率呈指数级增长。老年人的后遗症可能很严重，并与多疾病等与年龄相关的疾病相互作用。尽管如此，针对老年人的 TBI 研究还是很少。英国痴呆症研究学会中心护理研究和技术开发的家庭监测系统 Minder 使用红外传感器和床垫被动收集睡眠和活动数据。类似的系统已被用于监测患有痴呆症的老年人的健康状况。我们将评估使用该系统研究 TBI 后早期老年人健康状况变化的可行性。
该研究将招募 15 名（>60 岁）中度至重度 TBI 住院患者，他们将在 6 个月内使用被动和可穿戴传感器监测日常活动和睡眠模式。参与者将通过每周电话报告他们的健康状况，这将用于验证传感器数据。在研究期间将进行身体、功能和认知评估。将使用活动图计算和可视化来自传感器数据的活动水平和睡眠模式。将进行个体内分析，以确定参与者是否偏离了自己的日常生活。我们将应用机器学习方法对活动和睡眠数据进行分析，以评估这些数据的变化是否可以预测临床事件。对参与者、照顾者和临床工作人员进行的访谈的定性分析将评估系统的可接受性和实用性。
该研究已获得伦敦-坎伯韦尔圣吉尔斯研究伦理委员会（REC）的伦理批准（REC 编号：17/LO/2066）。研究结果将提交给同行评审期刊发表，在会议上展示，并为评估 TBI 后恢复情况的更大规模试验提供设计信息。
