Smart-Home Features Can Keep You Healthy

What if a home can send for help if its floors detect movement that looks like a fall, or the bathroom light knows no one is up by 11 a.m.? The tech already exists.

NEW YORK – An increasing number of homes are undergoing high-priced, high-tech upgrades to bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen appliances to enable homeowners – those who can afford it – to better monitor their health.

If the homeowner is prone to seizures, for example, floorboards lined with sensors can detect a sudden fall. For older at-risk adults, a ceiling light in the bathroom can send for help if someone seems to be an hour or two late getting up in the morning.

A home’s collected data is monitored by sites like Home Health Monitoring by Telus and uploaded to cloud-based systems accessible by physicians or emergency medical technicians.

CC Homes, a builder in South Florida, announced a partnership with Baptist Health South Florida in August. Residents of two of its communities, Canarias at Downtown Doral and Maple Ridge at Ave Maria, will receive telemedicine services from Baptist doctors through a health kit equipped with HD cameras and infrared thermometers.

Kobi Karp, a Miami-based architect, takes into account arcs and angles to ensure the houses he designs have abundant sunlight. He also checks his clients’ medical history to see if they are at risk of diseases like cancer, COPD or heart attack. Based on that information, the features in Karp’s homes are embedded, hidden sensors that transmit information on the health and well-being of the occupants.

The concept of wellness built into homes also includes yoga rooms, vertical gardens, vitamin C-infused showers, and ambient light.

Source: New York Times (09/09/20) Kamin, Debra

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