Just as the numbers of the U.S.'s aging population have grown substantially in the past few years, so too has the number technologies and devices developed for this population group.

A new interactive study, by the Center for Aging Services Technology (CAST; Washington) shines a considerable light on the of technologies that exist and are under development to meet the needs of aging consumers and highlights what companies are doing to serve this growing market segment.

This version, which can be found online at www.agingtech.org, builds on the March 2008 publication, "The State of Technology in Aging Services," and includes links to the numerous corporations, universities and aging-services providers who are advancing technologies that can help older people stay healthy and independent longer.

"The report is comprised of research we conducted last year," Majd Alwan, PhD, director of CAST, told Medical Device Daily. "Older consumers are becoming increasingly more interested in technology and small and large corporations are working to meet this demand. Our study shows that we can create a network of technology-driven services to help people stay at home and achieve better outcomes at the same time."

The report offers a vision for long-term care that includes using integrated information technology systems to support and enhance the health, safety and social connectedness of older people living in their own homes. The authors of the report, include Alwan and Jeremy Nobel, MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, identify several barriers to achieving this vision, but are confident that a combination of new knowledge, linked to effective collaboration among a variety of stakeholders, can overcome these obstacles to widespread technology adoption, so that older people will receive the support they need to lead healthy and independent lives.

But a lack of awareness and usability challenges, both perceived and real, on the part of older consumers tops a list of barriers that stand in the way of information management related technology adoption in aging services.

The report says that "equally troubling is a lack of consensus regarding the value of technology for some of the aging population; the absence of adequate financial and other incentives to encourage investment in this technology, and critical gaps in connectivity and interoperability among existing technologies and information systems."

The report also clearly states that more "robust studies are needed to quantify the value of these technologies, and payers and other financial intermediaries must consider adopting incentive-rich financing models to pay for technology-based solutions and encourage their widespread and effective use."

Finally, technology providers must work together and with other stakeholders to create successful business models for development and deployment of "aging in place" technologies that enhance the health and independence of older consumers.

In a nutshell the report discusses several types of technology, including:

• Sensors that can detect and notify a caregiver if a person is potentially unsafe.

• Health technologies that monitor blood pressure, respiration and other conditions in real time while the person is at home. This reduces the need for doctor's visits and notifying caregivers immediately of significant changes.

• Medication dispensers that provide the appropriate medicines at the appropriate time and remind a person to take them.

• Computer games that provide social networking, promote brain stimulation and even use diagnostic games to monitor a person's cognitive abilities.

The report also includes interviews with expert researchers, who concluded that factors ranging from interconnectivity between different systems to usability, affordability and the availability of technical support and training will determine how widespread these technologies will become.

Alwan said he hoped the report would serve its purpose.

"We hope to raise awareness of providers as well as consumers; and that the barriers and recommendations we have in the study [impact legislators] and policymakers, all the while raising general education and awareness," he said.