ICT4AWE 2022 Abstracts

Area 1 - Aging Well – Social and Human Sciences Perspective
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 2 - Digital Health and e-health
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 3 - Telemedicine and Independent Living
Full Papers Short Papers

Area 1 - Aging Well – Social and Human Sciences Perspective

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 19
Title:

Model to Assess the Level of Depression by Analyzing Facial Images and Voice of Patients
Authors:

Alexander Ramos-Cuadros, Luis Palomino-Santillan and Willy Ugarte
Abstract: Depression is considered as a common mental disorder, which is present in people of all ages causing a negative impact on different aspects of life such as mood, vitality, and interests in the enjoyment of activities, making them impossible in the long term, and in the most chronic cases can lead to suicide. Giving rise to the opportunity for collaboration between mental health specialists and the use of technological tools to support the evaluation of the level of depression to provide an optimal clinical diagnosis of the patient and an adequate referral to start treatment. In Peru, the COVID-19 epidemic has reduced physical contact and accessibility to health professionals in a timely manner, causing the patient’s mental health to not be recognized or treated properly, which leads to the chronicity of the disease, to the psychological suffering, and the high costs that are required for special care. Thus, one of the challenges of this research is to implement a technological model that evaluates levels of recurrent depression by analyzing facial images and voice to detect the chronicity of depressive symptoms in young Peruvians. Our results show that in a simulated scenario, young patients were disposed to execute a self-administered questionnaire for depression having an optimal perception of satisfaction and usability on the mobile application based on the functionalities of the model.
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Paper Nr: 21
Title:

Evaluation of Risk Factors for Fall in Elderly People from Imbalanced Data using the Oversampling Technique SMOTE
Authors:

Gulshan Sihag, Pankaj Yadav, Veronique Delcroix, Vivek Vijay, Xavier Siebert, Sandeep K. Yadav and François Puisieux
Abstract: Prevention of falls requires providing a small number of recommendations based on the risk factors present for a person. This article deals with the evaluation of 12 modifiable risk factors for fall, based on a selection of 45 variables from a real data set. The results of four classifiers (Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Artificial Neural Networks, and Bayesian Networks) are compared when using the initial imbalanced data set, and after using the balancing method SMOTE. We have compared the results using four different measures to evaluate their performance (balanced accuracy, area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve F1-score, and F2-score). The results show that there is a significant improvement for all the classifiers when classifying each target risk factor using the data after balancing with SMOTE.
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Paper Nr: 25
Title:

Participatory Design of Fall Prevention Exergames using Multiple Enabling Technologies
Authors:

Christos Goumopoulos, Michail Chartomatsidis and Georgios Koumanakos
Abstract: Exergames provide significant health benefits for older people. In particular, reinforcing strength and balance through exercises is an effective measure to prevent falls. In addition, cognitive improvements and mental benefits for the elderly can be achieved through physical activity tasks. In this paper a new exergame platform is introduced that combines hardware and intelligent software to create adaptable gaming experiences to improve physical and cognitive functions of older people. The platform integrates different enabling technologies (motion recognition sensor, virtual reality and smart floor) to provide the user with a wider variety of interactions and exercises. The design and development of the exergames is based on the principles of human centered and participatory design as this approach is particularly suitable for the development of technological solutions targeted towards the elderly. In this context, the main methods applied are the development of prototypes and use of qualitative research methods such as participatory development with the help of a focus group using interviews, questionnaires and end user observation. Representative exergames were presented in the form of high and low fidelity prototypes for feedback to both end users and healthcare experts. The data collected from a focus group workshop have been analyzed in order to provide the main guidelines and to record aspects that require attention in the design and implementation of the exergames.
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Paper Nr: 28
Title:

Exploring Privacy: Mental Models of Potential Users of AAL Technology
Authors:

Caterina Maidhof, Martina Ziefle and Julia Offermann
Abstract: Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have a high potential to combat healthcare challenges while supporting older adults to live independently at their own home. Despite the general positive uptake of such technology, perceptions of barriers of acceptance persist, a major one regards privacy. With an explorative qualitative approach, the current study aimed at investigating participantsc̀ognitive representations of a scenario in which AAL is installed in the own home as a support at an older age. Special focus was on eliciting participantsìmplications for privacy in this scenario and to understand the individual requirements of using AAL technology at home. Opinions of 12 participants (age range: 23-81 years) from Germany and Switzerland were assessed through semi-structured interviews. The paper presents descriptive results and emerging themes of the mapping approach. The results show the usefulness of the method to understand thought processes of potential users regarding privacy preferences and technology usage. Findings might be useful to inform technical designers as well as lawmakers to consider these usage requirements during technology or law development.
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Paper Nr: 45
Title:

BrainIn: A Data-driven Software System for Neurorehabilitation of People with Acquired Brain Injuries
Authors:

Roman Mouček, Lukáš Vařeka, Petr Brůha, Pavel Šnejdar, Michal Horký and Ivana Herejková
Abstract: The current model of neurorehabilitation provides comprehensive care (neurologist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologist, speech therapist) in the acute phase of acquired brain injuries during hospitalization in some countries. However, follow-up care is insufficient or completely absent, especially for disadvantaged people. Increasing the availability, effectiveness and efficiency of neurorehabilitation care is beneficial both socially and economically. The BrainIn project aims to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of neurorehabilitation procedures in both the acute phase and long-term home rehabilitation phase. Moreover, its goal is to facilitate and accelerate the return of the affected people to their families, social, and working life. The BrainIn project is freely available as a web application (https://brainin.kiv.zcu.cz/). It is adapted to the needs of therapists and patients who have experienced acquired brain injuries.
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Paper Nr: 48
Title:

Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis
Authors:

Marianne Paimre and Kairi Osula
Abstract: ICT tools play an important role in accessing health information today. Although health ratings have improved in Estonia, the inequalities in women's and men's health continue to persist. As consumption of relevant information creates favourable preconditions for better health behaviour, it is paramount to study gender differences regarding online health information seeking and its relations to health behaviour. This article focuses on gender differences in ICT acceptance for health purposes, online health information seeking, and health behaviour choices among Estonian older adults. A survey involving 204 men and 297 women aged 50 and over living in Estonia was conducted in the summer of 2020. Cross-tabulation and chi-square tests were used to analyse the retrieved data. The results indicate that women prioritised remote communication with a medical doctor more during the Covid-19 crisis while men were more eager to use digital applications for health purposes. The latter also reported better access to computers and smart devices allowing them to conduct online health information searches more conveniently. Men also stood out for their readiness to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Thus, their interest in digital health information should be given due consideration when developing various health services and apps along with national health communication strategies.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 3
Title:

A Supervised Quantification of the Color Names Characterizing the Visual Component Color in the ABCD Dermatological Criteria for a Further Melanoma Inspection
Authors:

Jinen Daghrir, Lotfi Tlig, Moez Bouchouicha, Noureddine Litaiem, Faten Zeglaoui and Mounir Sayadi
Abstract: Digital imaging is widely used for creating automated systems for medical purposes such as the diagnosis of certain kinds of diseases. One typical use of these computer vision diagnosis systems in dermatology is the inspection of melanoma skin cancer, which is one of the most fatal skin cancer. For the early detection of melanoma, a lot of systems have been proposed. Most of them use some visual features through image processing methods, such as color processing and border and texture inspection. Color variation is a good clue to differentiate melanoma and benign lesions. Thus, it is important to process skin lesion images to extract the various colors. The paper presents a new method that extracts the different color names from a skin lesion in a supervised way based on observed skin condition types. These features can ensure accurate melanoma detection with other types of features. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our suggested representation, we construct a prediction system for inspecting the malignancy of skin lesions. The experimental results show a consistent improvement in the prediction performance against other color representations.
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Paper Nr: 13
Title:

Health-related Internet Use among Older People in Norway
Authors:

Ali Acilar
Abstract: Like in many developed countries, the aging population presents a major challenge for Norway. Life expectancy in the Norwegian population has increased, and the proportion of older people is expected to increase. Since the use of internet-based technologies in healthcare is increasing, it is very important for older adults to use the internet in order to benefit from these technologies. The main aim of this study is to explore health-related internet use among older people in Norway by using national survey results of ICT usage in households. Survey results show that general internet use and health-related internet use have been increased among older Norwegian population. The most common purpose for health-related internet use among older people was seeking health-related information and the least common purpose was other health services online. Even though the rate of internet use among older people in Norway is higher than in many developed countries, the results show that there exist age-based differences in health-related internet use.
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Paper Nr: 31
Title:

Exploring Trust Perceptions in the Medical Context: A Qualitative Approach to Outlining Determinants of Trust in AAL Technology
Authors:

Sophia Otten and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: Due to a demographic change of the society, health care worker shortage and rising co- and multimorbidity within older adults, constant care at home and at care facilities face a difficult task to combat these challenges. Medical AAL technology offers many opportunities to relieve health care workers and assist older adults with difficulties in managing activities of daily life (ADL). This study has adopted an exploratory interview method to explore the users’ perceptions of trust in the medical context and specifically, related to medical AAL technologies. Eleven participants ranging from 20 years to 87 years old (M = 52.27; SD = 24.2) were interviewed and, in line with previous results in the literature, results revealed three categories of influences, namely user factors, technology factors, and context factors. This implies a network of trust dependent on various external and internal influences. These findings have practical implications for clinicians, developers, policy makers and legal professionals.
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Paper Nr: 32
Title:

Identifying Sociodemographic Factors for a User Engaging Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Mobile Self-management Application
Authors:

Kuthethur J. Das and Felix Janszen
Abstract: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus(T2DM) is a chronic condition affecting the elderly population across the globe. Self-management from the patient’s side is a key factor for T2DM care. Growth in the information and communication technology field has paved way for the rise of digital health interventions. Digital health interventions (DHI) can support self-management behaviors in patients suffering from chronic conditions through health coaching. Patient Engagement with DHI is crucial for the intervention to be effective on the patient’s health. This paper discusses user engagement and focuses explicitly on identifying the sociodemographic factors impacting user engagement with a mobile health intervention (mHealth) in T2DM patients. The factors along with their interrelations have been identified through expert reviews, feedback from T2DM patients and their family member through questionnaires and think aloud interview, and the conduction of a literature study.
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Paper Nr: 33
Title:

WisdomOfAge: Developing a Seniors Digital Platform for Knowledge Transfer through Participatory Design
Authors:

Katja A. Rießenberger, Samira-Salomé Hüsler, Anja Bruggmann, Simone Eicher, Leen Stulens and Sabina Misoch
Abstract: WisdomOfAge is a platform for knowledge transfer connecting retirees with experience in technological fields with industrial companies. The goal is to establish a mentor-mentee relationship between both parties. Companies will benefit from vast practical experience of seniors and the seniors from an opportunity to actively participate in their former field of work with a workload as high as they choose. This possibility promotes an individualized approach to retirement, active aging, and awareness of the work experience of (soon to be) retirees. Since the project is developed in close cooperation with older people, it also fosters inclusiveness within the technological development process.
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Paper Nr: 35
Title:

Finding Insights between Active Aging Variables: Towards a Data Mining Approach
Authors:

María-Inés Acosta-Urigüen, Priscila Cedillo, Marcos Orellana, Alexandra Bueno, Juan-Fernando Lima and Daniela Prado
Abstract: Several proposals on active aging have been addressed within the psychological field, conceptualizing it satisfactorily as a perspective of aging. Those proposals generate indicators that assess the level of physical health, psychological wellbeing, adequate social adaptation. Physical, cognitive, and functional faculties, interpersonal relationships, and productive activities have been evaluated. Although several technological approaches have been proposed to promote active aging, they have not included a deep understanding of the results obtained from solution implementations. Then, this paper presents the first step towards an approach that uses variables proposed by active aging models (e.g., health, cognition, activity, affection, fitness aspects) to generate knowledge through patterns. These patterns are identified using data obtained through several instruments (i.e., psychological evaluations, health studies, and human experts' contributions). Thus, selecting those variables and evaluating them as future models is necessary. Domain experts perform this evaluation. The evaluation of this proposal has been completed with participants belonging to the health area through a case study. This evaluation generates input data for engineers to apply data mining techniques to reveal strategic knowledge. Finally, from the psychologist's point of view, the results showed that the contribution results are appropriate for achieving healthy aging indicators.
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Paper Nr: 36
Title:

Beyond the Digital Divide: Digital Skills and Training Needs of Persons 50+
Authors:

Veronika Hämmerle, Julia Reiner, Esther Ruf, Stephanie Lehmann and Sabina Misoch
Abstract: Demographic change and digitalisation are two megatrends which change society and individual life fundamentally. Digital skills and their continuous development are increasingly central prerequisites for participation in private and public life, and it must be ensured that all citizens can develop the skills necessary to participate and to access services. However, these skills are not equally developed in all population groups, an unequal distribution of ICT use, digital skills, and its outcomes, the so-called “digital divide”. However, using a binary classification of Internet use or skills overlooks the broad differences in people’s level of skills. Due to the static and dichotomous theoretical conception, there is a high risk of overlooking the group of people who, in a continuum of digital skills, are not at either end but somewhere in the middle. Especially with persons in the second half of life, due to their biography as they did not grow up with digitalisation but acquired basic skills during their professional lives, a high percentage of people with intermediate digital skills can be assumed. This group is at risk of being overlooked in the context of digital skills courses, which often focus on building basic skills. Strategies and programs should be developed to support the further development of digital skills of this group during and especially beyond working life. Therefore, a mixed-method study, entitled “Digital Skills and Training Needs of 50+. A Study Beyond the Digital Divide”, is conducted by the Institute for Ageing Research (IAF), OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) within the program NRP 77 “Digital Transformation”. The project will generate broad knowledge of actual and long-term digital competences of Swiss people 50 plus, their training experiences, as well as develop evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders wishing to design new training courses on digital competences for people 50 plus with different educational backgrounds and experiences. This project provides actual and long-term broad knowledge and practical application possibilities to ensure the participation of future generations in digitalisation in Switzerland. This paper presents in detail the project, its individual parts and the methodological approach..
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Paper Nr: 38
Title:

Hybrid Ludo: Combination of a Tangible UI for Seniors and a Web-based Ludo Game
Authors:

Bernhard Wohlmacher, Fabian Mertl, Holger Klapperich and Alina Huldtgren
Abstract: During the ongoing pandemic, the need for senior-friendly remote communication systems became more than apparent. While communication could be switched with little effort from face-2-face to online video conferencing in many areas of life, these systems still provide barriers for a broad range of older people. In addition, the simple provision of a digital communication tool does not inherently provide opportunities for meaningful interactions and the creation of new memories. However, especially in times of (physical) contact limitations, it is not sufficient to do video telephony but also to engage in remote activities that are meaningful, playful, and lead to shared memories. We posit that a hybrid system offering tangible and web-based interactions, while each being adapted to the living situations of particular users (e.g. seniors and their younger relatives), can overcome the lack of meaningful engagement in existing video telephony systems. This paper provides a new interaction concept based on hybrid user interfaces and describes the development of a proof-of-concept prototype of a digital game of Ludo that comprises a senior-friendly tangible interface, a web-based interface, and an integrated video conferencing function.
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Paper Nr: 41
Title:

Next Steps for User Integration in ICT for Aging Well
Authors:

Alina Huldtgren, Alina Huldtgren and Cordula Endter
Abstract: In the last decade user-centered and participatory design have become central approaches for the design of technology in the context of ageing well. They promise a better fit of system requirements to user needs and, eventually, a higher user acceptance of the end-product. In Germany funding programs explicitly ask for the integration of users and user studies in real life contexts. They also started to fund accompanying research on how technical projects implement user-centered methods. Given our own experience and research on user-centered design from both an inside perspective as designers and developers as well as an outside perspective as ethnographic researchers, we examine the current practice of user integration critically in this paper and provide a list of crucial aspects including reflexivity, reciprocity, and empowerment that should be the focus of the research on user-centered approaches for ICT design in healthcare in the coming years.
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Paper Nr: 43
Title:

Engagement of Senior Citizens in a Family Setting to Help Revive Dignity: A Study
Authors:

Sanchita S. Kamath and Sophia Rahaman
Abstract: As people grow older, they start craving for their family and need filial support. In a family setting, elderly contribute largely to the betterment of their family. This paper redefines Positive and Negative Engagement in an elderly setting, and works to define various aspects within it, and analyse its impact on the dignity and the psychology of the senior citizens. Self-Fulfilment and the feeling of being wanted, has been hypothesized as being the most essential for the aging population and the research has been directed along the same lines. Further, the role of technology in helping restore elderly dignity has been penned, and how it can improve interactions with their family. This paper also includes methods to understand the mind-set of the ageing population, to understand what the concept of “Ageing well”, means for them. This paper being theoretical, a taxonomy has been generated, anticipatory results have been tabulated, and proposed model for applying Human Computer Interaction to restore dignity has been generated, including all factors that affect the concept and are crucial to get right. This paper focusses on the psychology of the elderly, and what exactly shapes it, and how it is related to their dignity.
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Paper Nr: 46
Title:

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction with Supervised Machine Learning Techniques
Authors:

Elias Dritsas, Sotiris Alexiou and Konstantinos Moustakas
Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide and a major public health concern, with heart diseases being the most prevalent ones, thus the early prediction is being considered as one of the most effective measures for CVDs control. The risk evaluation for CVD occurrence on participants (men and women) especially aged older than 50 years with the aid of Machine Learning (ML) models is the main purpose of this research paper. The performance of supervised ML models is compared in terms of accuracy, sensitivity (or recall) in identifying those participants that actually suffer from a CVD and Area Under Curve (AUC) score. The experimental analysis demonstrated that the Logistic Regression classifier is the most appropriate against Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest with 72.1% accuracy, recall and 78.4% AUC.
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Paper Nr: 47
Title:

A Meta-analytical View on the Acceptance of Mhealth Apps
Authors:

Luisa Vervier and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: Never before has there been such a driving transformation of healthcare concerning digitalization as in early 2020 due to the pandemic. The digital transformation in the health sector holds great potential to meet the challenges of demographic change, the financial burden on the health system and the shortage of skilled workers. One digital solution is the usage of modern information and communication technologies (ICT), such as mhealth applications (mhealth apps). However, the usage of mhealth apps especially in the German healthcare system is still evolving and the usage rate of mhealth apps among the population is rather low. To understand acceptance-relevant factors for the usage, this meta-analytical study presents two samples before and during pandemic times (survey times 2019 and 2021). To analyse these samples the UTAUT2 acceptance model in an extended version was applied. The additional factors are online privacy, trust and ehealth literacy. In total 644 participants took part. The results show, that the factors habit, hedonic motivation, performance expectancy, social influence and effort expectancy contribute most strongly to the intention to use mhealth apps as well as the added factor trust. The decisive factor for the user profiles was age.
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Paper Nr: 50
Title:

A Survey on Smart Cities and Ageing
Authors:

Rute Bastardo, João Pavão and Nelson P. Rocha
Abstract: During the last decades, local, regional, and national governments promoted the development of smart cities, aiming the integration of traditional urban infrastructures and information technologies to provide high quality and sustainable urban services. Smart cities’ implementations may change the way the individuals experience the urban spaces. Looking specifically to older adults, smart cities’ applications have the potential of promoting their autonomy, independence, safety, well-being, social participation, and inclusion. This paper presents a survey of the scientific literature aiming to analyse current evidence related to smart cities’ applications to support older adults and to identify issues for future research.
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Paper Nr: 15
Title:

Risk of Falls in Older Adults in the Rural Region Case Study Paccha Cuenca, Ecuador
Authors:

Johanna Campoverde, Jessica González and Ana Pérez
Abstract: The growing aging of the population constitutes a challenge in the social and health system which considers the risk of falls as one of its main health problems. The objective of the study is to determine the risk of falls in the elderly population of the La Fortaleza group - Paccha, Cuenca. This research corresponds to a descriptive and cross-sectional case study, where the unit of analysis was the elderly from the La Fortaleza group. The Tinetti scale determine the risk of falls in older adults, with a reliability 0.95 - 0.8 and Cronbach's Alpha 0.91. The frequency and distribution statistics were analyzed in the SPSS version 25 program and to determine the statistical significance the Chi- Square statistic was used 86 older adults with a mean age of 76.65 years (SD = 7.35) were evaluated, determining a high risk of falls (61.6%) in this population. An association was obtained between the risk of falls and the age variable (p = 0.000); furthermore, the equilibrium dimension of the Tinetti scale had a greater implication than the march in the risk of falls of the older adults. Conclusion: The high risk of falls in this population is associated with older age and alterations in balance. Finally, the need for more studies of different characters and scales is analyzed.
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Area 2 - Digital Health and e-health

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 20
Title:

The Role of Culture in User Adoption of Mobile Applications for Self-management of Health: A Conceptual Framework
Authors:

Mariam Jacobs-Basadien and Shaun Pather
Abstract: There are increasing calls to harness Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) more effectively towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through innovative digital health strategies. Diabetes mellitus, is one example of a global health problem that is increasing rapidly, affecting the poor and disadvantaged populations the most. Self-care practices for diabetes self-management are important to implement in one’s daily life as morbidity and mortality are preventable. Diabetes complications and early fatalities are preventable through proper diabetes management and lifestyle modification. Mobile health applications have been proposed as an important emergent technology to assist in self-care activities of diabetes patients. However, the uptake and usage of mobile health (m-health) applications for self-management of disease is low, especially among communities who are considered to be poor and economically marginalised. This paper posits that individual’s culture persuasions have an influence on diabetes patient’s decision to adopt and use mobile applications for diabetes self-management. A conceptual framework is developed to understand the role of culture in the adoption of m-health mobile applications for the self-management of disease.
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Paper Nr: 23
Title:

The CoroPrevention-SDM Approach: A Technology-supported Shared Decision Making Approach for a Comprehensive Secondary Prevention Program for Cardiac Patients
Authors:

Cindel Bonneux, Deeman Yousif Mahmood, Martijn Scherrenberg, Maarten Falter, Gustavo Rovelo Ruiz, Hanne Kindermans, Dominique Hansen, Reijo Laaksonen, Paul Dendale and Karin Coninx
Abstract: After a cardiac event, secondary prevention is recommended to foster recovery and reduce the risk of recurrent events. European guidelines and EAPC position statements on prevention of cardiovascular diseases recommend a holistic approach that actively engages patients by using shared decision making (SDM). It has been demonstrated that telerehabilitation can be a feasible and effective add-on or alternative compared to conventional in-hospital secondary prevention. However, till date, there is no eHealth solution that offers a holistic approach for secondary prevention that includes SDM. In this paper, we present the CoroPrevention-SDM approach, a technology-supported shared decision making approach for a comprehensive secondary prevention program for cardiac patients. The CoroPrevention Tool Suite consists of three applications that support patients and caregivers in following this approach: 1) a caregiver dashboard that includes decision support systems and supports SDM, 2) a patient mobile application that supports patients in making behaviour changes in their daily life, and 3) an extended ePRO application that collects patient reported outcomes and patient preferences. In a formative usability study, we assessed patients’ and caregivers’ opinion about our approach. The study indicated that both are willing to use our proposed approach to collaboratively set behavioural goals during SDM encounters.
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Paper Nr: 27
Title:

Combining Machine Learning and Bayesian Networks for ECG Interpretation and Explanation
Authors:

Tezira Wanyana, Mbithe Nzomo, C. Sue Price and Deshendran Moodley
Abstract: We explore how machine learning (ML) and Bayesian networks (BNs) can be combined in a personal health agent (PHA) for the detection and interpretation of electrocardiogram (ECG) characteristics. We propose a PHA that uses ECG data from wearables to monitor heart activity, and interprets and explains the observed readings. We focus on atrial fibrillation (AF), the commonest type of arrhythmia. The absence of a P-wave in an ECG is the hallmark indication of AF. Four ML models are trained to classify an ECG signal based on the presence or absence of the P-wave: multilayer perceptron (MLP), logistic regression, support vector machine, and random forest. The MLP is the best performing model with an accuracy of 89.61% and an F1 score of 88.68%. A BN representing AF risk factors is developed based on expert knowledge from the literature and evaluated using Pitchforth and Mengersen’s validation framework. The P-wave presence or absence as determined by the ML model is input into the BN. The PHA is evaluated using sample use cases to illustrate how the BN can explain the occurrence of AF using diagnostic reasoning. This gives the most likely AF risk factors for the individual.
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Paper Nr: 44
Title:

Overview of the SMART-BEAR Technical Infrastructure
Authors:

Vadim Peretokin, Ioannis Basdekis, Ioannis Kouris, Jonatan Maggesi, Mario Sicuranza, Qiqi Su, Alberto Acebes, Anca Bucur, Vinod R. Mukkala, Konstantin Pozdniakov, Christos Kloukinas, Dimitrios D. Koutsouris, Elefteria Iliadou, Ioannis Leontsinis, Luigi Gallo, Giuseppe De Pietro and George Spanoudakis
Abstract: This paper describes a cloud-based platform that offers evidence-based, personalised interventions powered by Artificial Intelligence to help support efficient remote monitoring and clinician-driven guidance to people over 65 who suffer or are at risk of hearing loss, cardiovascular diseases, cognitive impairments, balance disorders, and mental health issues. This platform has been developed within the SMART-BEAR integrated project to power its large-scale clinical pilots and comprises a standards-based data harmonisation and management layer, a security component, a Big Data Analytics system, a Clinical Decision Support tool, and a dashboard component for efficient data collection across the pilot sites.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 5
Title:

Automatic Pain Intensity Estimation based on Electrocardiogram and Demographic Factors
Authors:

Stefanos Gkikas, Chariklia Chatzaki, Elisavet Pavlidou, Foteini Verigou, Kyriakos Kalkanis and Manolis Tsiknakis
Abstract: Automatic pain intensity estimation possess significant importance for reliable and complete pain management. The accurate and continuous monitoring is essential in order to attain objective insight about the condition of the patient. In this work, we elaborate physiological signals in order to estimate the pain intensity and investigate the impact of demographic factors. Specifically, we exploit electrocardiography signals, adopting the Pan-Tompkins algorithm to extract important features and apply well-validated classification methods, while we explore the correlation of gender and age with the pain manifestation.
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Paper Nr: 24
Title:

Data Mining Techniques for Analysing Data Extracted from Serious Games: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors:

María-Inés Acosta-Urigüen, Marcos Orellana and Priscila Cedillo
Abstract: Serious games are applications that pursue, on the one hand, the users' entertainment and, on the other hand, look to promote their learning, cognitive stimulation, among reaching other objectives. Moreover, data generated from those games (e.g., demographic information, gaming precision, user efficiency) provide insights helpful in improving certain aspects such as the attention and memory of the gamers. Therefore, applying data mining techniques over those data allows obtaining multiple patterns to improve the game interface, identify preferences, discover, predict, train, and stimulate the users' cognitive situation, among other aspects, to reach the games' objectives. Unfortunately, although several solutions have been addressed about this topic, no secondary studies have been found to condensate research that uses data mining to extract patterns from serious games. Thus, this paper presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to extract such evidence from studies reported between 2001 and 2021. Besides, this SLR aims to answer research questions involving serious games solutions that train the cognitive functions of their users and data mining techniques associated with data gathered from those games.
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Paper Nr: 51
Title:

Personalized Nutritional Guidance System to Prevent Malnutrition in Pluripathological Older Patients
Authors:

Jordi Torres, Garazi Artola, Nekane Larburu, Amaia Agirre, Elixabete Narbaiza, Idoia Berges and Ainhoa Lizaso
Abstract: Malnutrition is a frequent problem in the elderly population, who usually is affected by one or more pathologies. The health status of these patients can get worsened if malnutrition is left untreated. Nutritional guidelines have been developed to fulfil the nutritional needs derived from certain pathologies, but still are not easy to use. Digital tools can help implement and use these guidelines in real clinical scenarios. Current solutions are designed around a single pathology or specific scenario, but the pluripathologic scenario presents a challenge when it comes to provide nutritional support. In this paper, we present an adaptative tool that provides personalized nutritional recommendations for pluripathological patients in an efficient way, and can be extended to include other pathologies.
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Paper Nr: 8
Title:

Smart Access Control System for Industrial Machines and Vehicles based on RFID Technology
Authors:

Davide Colaiuda, Giuseppe Ferri, Alfiero Leoni, Andrea Pelliccione, Piero Faraone, Orlando Quaranta, Valerio Arezzo and Vincenzo Stornelli
Abstract: In this paper a smart system for Access control of industrial machines and vehicles is presented. The development of the so-called Industry 4.0, together with the spread of contactless technology such as NFC Radio Frequency Identification, and the massive industrialization of working process, resulted in a significant integration of information technologies in smart industrial vehicles and forklifts. These are one of the main causes of work-related accidents, due to a frequent improper usage of this machines. The presented solution is a smart system that uses RFID reader and personal smart cards that interrupts machine ignition or movement, allowing just trained workers use them. Machines usage data are stored in system internal memory. A dedicated application makes new cards compatible and saves user data in them; a simple user interface is also implemented to add or remove employees permission or authorised cards and tags.
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Paper Nr: 26
Title:

Data Mining Techniques Applied to Recommender Systems for Outdoor Activities: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors:

Pablo Arévalo, John Calle, Marcos Orellana and Priscila Cedillo
Abstract: Currently, many pollutants are released into the air, representing a risk to the environment and human health. There are significant volumes of data generated by the devices that monitor these pollutants. This information can represent a relevant input that allows the construction of applications, techniques, and methodologies to reach a prediction of the state of the air. On the other hand, recommender systems are present in numerous data processing methods, supporting the decision-making and promoting the improvement of the quality of service of solutions. Although several studies have been presented, no secondary studies have been proposed. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic review of the literature, which aims to identify the knowledge areas, tools, methods, and data mining approaches used in recommender systems for outdoor activities related to atmospheric pollutants. The results obtained contribute to creating new ways of recommendation systems based on the previous topics.
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Paper Nr: 29
Title:

Analysis of Psychological Test Data by using K-means Method
Authors:

Angel J. Sarango, Andrés Patiño, María-Inés Acosta-Urigüen, Juan F. Sanchez, Priscila Cedillo and Marcos Orellana
Abstract: The Stroop test also called the colors and words test, is a widely used attention test to detect neuropsychological problems. Moreover, the stress test is a psychological instrument used to diagnose the level of stress and to identify the most common symptoms. This research aims to evaluate whether there is a relationship between the score of the Stroop test and the participant's level of stress. Data are collected through a web application, where participants answered the stress test and completed the Stroop test. Several variables were collected, such as the precision of each answer, the time spent, and demographic information. The machine learning technique called k-means was applied to process the collected data; the results include clusters of unlabeled data to find relationships. The main findings show that a person's stress level is directly linked to the number of correct answers obtained in the Stroop test; according to the clusters that show higher stress levels, the number of correct answers decreased progressively.
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Paper Nr: 42
Title:

Use of a Tele-fitness Program for Seniors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Excerpts of the Usage Analysis of the Movinsi! Project
Authors:

Daniela E. Ströckl, Manuela Perchtaler, Kathrin Weger, Paola Dario, Filippo Vaccari and Stefano Lazzer
Abstract: From December 2020 to June 2021, the Movinsi! project conducted its field test to evaluate a tele-fitness and mobilization program for seniors from Austria (Hermagor) and Italy (Tolmezzo, Paluzza). Initially conceptualized as an offline program, the field trial had to be rapidly converted to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its goals were adapted accordingly and finally consisted of motivating individuals to exercise more through targeted interventions such as exercise videos and instructions, provision of health information, and a chat to connect with other project participants across language barriers. In total, 45 people from Austria and Italy took part in the seven-month trial. Results of the quantitative usage analysis show that 31.1% of participants (n=14) used the Movinsi! platform until the end of the field test, 62.5% made use of the chat function (albeit mostly once), and the majority (73.1%) used their computers to watch the exercise videos, despite the initial conceptualization for mobile devices. The qualitative analysis of participant feedback revealed that many participants disliked the audiovisual presentation of the exercises, some would have preferred to (also) meet face-to-face, and the health-related information provided through the Movinsi! platform was overlooked by most.
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Area 3 - Telemedicine and Independent Living

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 18
Title:

Technological Solution to Optimize the Monitoring of CoViD-19 Symptoms in Seniors Patients in Lima
Authors:

Sara Haro-Hoyos, Edgard Inga-Quillas and Willy Ugarte
Abstract: The aim of the article is to present the implementation of a technological solution based on the use of wearable that allows optimizing the monitoring process of elderly patients with CoViD19. This is a current big problem since the pandemic has make a lot of issues emerge for elderly patients. For instance, since elder people are more vulnerable for CoViD19, they require to avoid social contact or follow more strict rules for lockdowns. This work addresses and applies aspects from the use of IoT for the monitoring of elderly patients, application of technological models in real time, and the supervision of symptoms of CoViD19. Our results show the feasibility of our approach.
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Paper Nr: 30
Title:

Needs, Requirements, and Technology Acceptance using Telemedical Consultations in Acute Medical Situations in Nursing Homes
Authors:

Julia Offermann, Wiktoria Wilkowska, Anne K. Schaar, Jörg C. Brokmann and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: A lack of (medical) personnel and high proportions of older people in need of care pose enormous challenges for care institutions, often resulting in hospitalizations of nursing home residents (geriatric patients). Frequently, these hospitalizations are not medically necessary and cause a deterioration of health. The usage of telemedical consultations in nursing homes represents one approach that aims at the reduction of unnecessary hospitalizations of geriatric patients and at supporting care personnel in acute and medically uncertain situations. For a successful implementation of these telemedical consultations, especially the patients’ as well as the care personnel’s perspectives and acceptance are essential. This paper presents first qualitative results from a social communication science perspective within the Optimal@NRW project. Based on an interview study with residents and care personnel of different nursing homes (N=28) first attitudes, perceived advantages, and concerns as well as requirements regarding the usage of telemedical consultations are identified. These results provide the basis for further quantifications and comparisons of acceptance parameters of using telemedical consultations in nursing homes in general and across the entire duration of the project in specific.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 9
Title:

An Online Balance Training Application using Pose Estimation and Augmented Reality
Authors:

Amirhossein Etaat, Negar Haghbin and Marta Kersten-Oertel
Abstract: The evolution of digitally connected devices and artificial intelligence has opened the door for novel health and fitness applications that can be used by individuals at a time and in an environment convenient to them. The purpose of our research was to develop a platform that requires no additional hardware to provide an online home balance training program. Balance exercises are often prescribed for healthy aging to keep the body active, improve balance and coordination, and prevent falls and injuries, as well as, for those doing rehabilitation after injuries or diseases such as stroke. We developed a simple web application (BaART: Balance Augmented Reality Trainer) that uses PoseNet to determine a user’s location and pose for balance exercises. Furthermore, we looked at how augmented reality, and specifically adding a virtual chair, might impact a user’s sense of balance. In a study of 20 participants with and without balance disorders, we found that the developed system was easy to use, however, we also found that the virtual object (i.e. chair) was not used by most people. Furthermore, those with balance issues felt they required a real chair for balance and some even felt that the virtual object was distracting from the exercise. In the future, we will explore other uses of augmented reality, such as feedback on exercise quality, gaming features, and a virtual avatar trainer.
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Paper Nr: 52
Title:

ISA: An Integrated Environment for the Digital Inclusion of Elderly People
Authors:

Bernhard Kohn, Klaus Dittrich, Carmina Coronel, Martin Litzenberger, Birgit Unger-Hrdlicka and Karoline Reither
Abstract: Elderly people are increasingly discouraged from using mobile digital devices due to the large number of applications. In this paper, we present ISA, an integrated system that is intended to simplify the inclusion of older people in the digital world, by a joint organisation of a digital calendar by care organisation, cared for person and informal carer. On a tablet computer daily routine such as home care, taking medication, but also appointments, meetings with friends or relatives can be easily managed by an integrated calendar. In addition, functions such as video telephony and photo albums are offered for better social interaction with friends and relatives. A pilot operation was carried out to check whether the system would be helpful in daily activities or in reducing the burden of informal carers. 12 pairs of participants, each consisting of the person to be cared for and the informal carer, were recruited for a study. They filled out questionnaires on activities of daily life and the caregiver burden before and after the test. Evaluation of the questionnaires showed no significant change of status regarding the activities of daily living or the caregiver burden.
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Paper Nr: 11
Title:

A Universally Designed Dietary Mobile Application for Healthier Lifestyles
Authors:

Kha N. Du and Way K. Bong
Abstract: Practicing a healthy diet is becoming increasingly important not only because people are living longer, but because they also have a more sedentary lifestyle. Research has shown that using a mobile dietary application (app) could help enhance goal setting and self-monitoring of dietary behaviors. However, when using an app, users can become demotivated if the design of the app is not intuitive and user-friendly. The group of dietary app users varies enormously in terms of their demographic backgrounds, including age, gender, digital skills, and educational level. This means that dietary apps need to be universally designed so that they are intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible to people with a wide range of abilities, disabilities, and characteristics. However, only a limited number of studies have focused on making dietary apps more universally designed. In this study, we evaluated three already-on-the-market dietary apps (MyFitnessPal, Lose it!, and MyNetDiary) with 10 participants from diverse backgrounds. The evaluations consisted of usability testing and a semi-structured interview. The outcomes were used to propose an improved design for a dietary app. Universal design (UD) principles, together with Nielsen’s usability heuristics, guided the entire study.
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Paper Nr: 12
Title:

Evaluation and Usage Analysis of IBD Tool: A Telemonitoring Platform for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors:

Caterina Lia, Matteo Bonina, Marco Daperno, Valeria Figini, Flavio Martinez De Carnero and Guido Pagana
Abstract: Telemedicine brings numerous benefits to healthcare as a support to traditional medicine. On this basis, IBD Tool was developed. It consists of a web-app through which some of the patients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) of the Mauriziano Hospital of Turin are followed. Thanks to IBD Tool, physicians can follow the evolution of the disease over time, having the ability to identify periods of remission and relapse and to reduce hospitalization’s frequency of patients. Furthermore, IBD Tool is a powerful tool also for patients, who thanks to the web-app are always in close contact with the healthcare staff and do not feel neglected in the months that normally elapse between a visit and the other. In this first year of use of the platform, telemedicine has proved to be a valid support for the treatment of chronic intestinal diseases, providing clinicians a versatile telemonitoring tool. Considering the current health situation, it is increasingly evident that the health system cannot ignore telemedicine. In this study, we have investigated the results collected in this first period of use of the platform, monitoring the activity state of the web-app and patients’ evaluations about the tool.
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Paper Nr: 22
Title:

Medical Treatment with a Remote Care Technological Solution
Authors:

Diego Marca-Mariaca, Oscar Medina-Poemape and Willy Ugarte
Abstract: The care service for the treatment of diseases is an activity that is performed in person, which uses the usual flow of appointment reservation and waiting time to access care, so that the diagnosis was provided and subsequently the appropriate treatment. Here, we present the development of a technological architecture that will allow you to manage user information to optimize the service in which you can reduce appointment booking time, attention time and even compliance with treatments remotely. Validation of the work proposal was carried out through a mobile solution in the test scenario that functioned as a pilot to demonstrate the feasibility of outpatient care service and to keep remote follow-ups to patients treated against the pathology of overweight. The results show the feasibility of our proposal.
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