YMUH Dedication to Elderly Care Bears Fruit in Dementia Care and Sarcopenia Diagnosis

National Yang Ming University Hospital(YMUH) is to demonstrate achievements in dementia prevention and comprehensive care as well as diagnosing sarcopenia with the Microsoft Kinect at the Taiwan Healthcare Plus Expo.

YMUH established the Dementia Shared Care Center in Yilan to establish a comprehensive dementia care network. The network brings together medical experts, long-term care service, community and social welfare groups, private and corporate resources, and universities to provide services covering the entire spectrum of dementia care, from the promotion of health, prevention, and screening before onset, to the diagnosis, care, and hospice care after the onset. In the 7 months since the center began operations, the rate at which cases were being diagnosed has increased. The number of confirmed cases was 2.3 times higher than before, mostly concentrated in suspected and mild cases(74%). The center has saved over 4 million(NTD) in social cost.

Many hospitals adopt the Kumamoto model for dementia, and Ilan County's shared-care center is no exception. The center hosts events and seminars to teach the public about dementia to uncover more potential cases earlier. Meanwhile, the center also provides clinical service and guidance for medical institutions in the community to set up service centers. In addition, it promotes the participation of corporations. For example, a life insurance company hosted a board game event for dementia prevention and convenience stores became temporary care centers for lost patients. These all contribute to the development of a dementia-friendly community. Taiwan has accumulated enough expertise in elderly care to lead the world, said the center's director, and the diagnosis and treatment of dementia can be further accelerated with the aid of big data. If the Taiwan Health Insurance Database can allow a certain degree of public access, people will find ways to use that in new and creative ways.

The hospital is also looking into using Kinect sensor as a diagnostic tool for sarcopenia, which is prevalent in the elderly and can lead to disability and other undesirable outcomes. Traditionally, the diagnosis of sarcopenia requires a specific location and inaccessible diagnostic tools, making it difficult to provide diagnosis and advice in prevention to the masses. Portable motion sensing technology can help solve that problem. The device prototype is able to measure the walking speed and leg flexion angle of the user, which can be analyzed and used for diagnosis of sarcopenia. Currently, the precision and consistency of the diagnostic system already meets clinical requirements.

Using the Kinect as the core module to measure patient walking speed, in combination with a dynamometer and bioelectrical impedance analysis, the three main elements of sarcopenia diagnosis (walking speed, grip strength, and muscle mass) can be measured within a 4-meter space, said the Director of the Department of Family Medicine, and preliminary diagnosis can be provided by the system. The system can hopefully offer an effective and convenient diagnostic tool in the field as well as for academic research. The system significantly reduces the time required for diagnosis, and, if adopted in the community, can help with large-scale screening and the development of preventative strategy.

(Editing by Nicole Yang, Research Center for Biotechnology and Medicine Policy)

• For more information see the Taiwan Healthcare+ and 2018 Taiwan Healthcare+ Expo