The Business of Aging

Intel's Impressive Aging In Place Technology

A Business Week article titled Intel Wants You to Age Gracefully, at Home discusses a new category of technologies designed to help seniors stay longer in their homes - and in the process save the health care system billion of dollars. 

One such product is Intel's Health Guide,  a device that let doctors monitor a patient's health remotely.

An excerpt from the BW article describing the technology:

"Each day after he woke up, he'd step on a scale and strap on a blood-pressure cuff that were attached to the Health Guide. The device collected his vitals and zapped them to his doctor's office. From there, nurse Marie DiCola scoured the data, and if she noticed anything amiss, she dialed up Lang and chatted with him over Health Guide's videophone."

Very cool.

Besides Intel (INTC), the aging-in-place market has attracted the likes of General Electric (GE), Philips Electronics, Honeywell (HON), Bosch, and dozens of technology startups.  I think Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) is also in the space.

Also mentioned in the article was an advocacy group that Intel and 400 other technology and health-care organizations formed called the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST). The group's mission is to fight to improve the reimbursement outlook for aging-in-place technologies.

A good newsletter to read to follow the aging in place technology market is aging in place technology watch.   - or this blog :-)

"Retrofitting" Suburbia for the Aging Population

At the 2009 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit & Business Plan Competition there were a few start-ups competing in the business plan competition that intended to market products/services that would help seniors age independently in their own homes. Some of the companies proposed "retrofitting" homes to make them more senior friendly while others were focused on senior friendly technologies.

The idea of making our homes more senior friendly through both architectural design improvements and aging in place technologies is nothing new and lots of companies are investing in these areas.

But what about making our cities and towns more senior friendly?

A recent AARP survey showed 85% of individuals age 50-plus that they wish to remain in their communities for as long as possible.

A special section in the Wall Street Journal's Weekend Report (September 19th, 2009) was dedicated to "Making Suburbia More Livable" for the aging population. Or, as the intro to the story stated:

The nation's sprawling suburbs may have been a good place to grow up, but they're a tough place to grow old. 

(By the way, have you noticed the dramatic increase in stories dedicated to "aging" topics in the national media?) 

Ken Steele is the mayor of Fayetteville, Georgia and he is working to transform his community  into a "lifelong community" and suggests neighborhoods across the country need to do the same.

"Every small community has the same problem," says Mr. Steele, age 69. "We want residents to be able to age in place, to meet their needs…here, without having to move away."

The idea is to "retrofit" suburbia which involve taking a neighborhood or site within an existing town or suburb and creating a compact, walkable community—one with alternatives to single-family homes, such as condominiums or row houses. Older residents in large homes will have the option of downsizing and remaining in a community where they can access restaurants, shopping and other amenities and services on foot.

This is already underway in Lakewood, Colo. "The change is pretty dramatic," says Mike Rock, retired city manager of Lakewood who helped direct Belmar's development. "Buildings are pulled right up to the sidewalk; residential living is above the retail outlets. You don't expect to see this in a suburban setting.

"Many weekends, my wife and I don't use the car," he says. Movies, an athletic club, a coffee house and restaurants are all within walking distance. "I regularly see people who are 10 years older than me—and 30 years younger," he adds. "I like that. I like the vibrancy."

The entire Wall Street Journal article can be read here. It's a very interesting story.