WO2014106294A1

WO2014106294A1 - Computer communications method for use by senior citizens

Info

Publication number: WO2014106294A1
Application number: PCT/CA2013/001088
Authority: WO
Inventors: Geof Auchinleck; Paul Sharman
Original assignee: Claris Healthcare Inc.
Priority date: 2013-01-03
Filing date: 2013-12-24
Publication date: 2014-07-10

Abstract

A method is disclosed for engaging senior citizen in Internet communications which minimizes the need for the senior citizen to physically interact with computer equipment. The invention provides means to control content displayed on a computer used by the senior citizen, to push emails, text or other information and messages to a display screen provided for the senior citizen, without any requirement on the part of the senior to enter user names, passwords or otherwise interact with the display screen. The invention provides for increasing levels of interaction between the display and the senior as the senior becomes more comfortable with using the invention. In configurations, the senior may respond to messages, page through photographs or older messages, review upcoming appointments, respond to simple surveys and review sources of medical or other information.

Description

COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS METHOD FOR USE BY SENIOR CITIZENS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to computer software and more particularly to providing means for people with limited motor, cognitive or computer skills to use Internet communications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many senior citizens have not had the ability or inclination to learn how to use computers or smart phones, hence are not able to engage in communications modes such as email, text messaging, sharing of photos, audio files and videos or accessing sources of information available over the Internet, nor can they make use of computer-based utilities like reminders and events calendars.

Many senior citizens are reluctant to adopt Internet-based communications technologies because of the perceived technical complexity and risk of error, or because they simply lack interest in learning how to make use of such technologies. This challenge is exacerbated by increasing cognitive impairment, particularly short term memory loss that occurs as we age. Senior citizens are often simply unable to remember the various passwords and process steps required to make use of Internet communications.

As younger generations increasingly embrace newer communications technologies, senior citizens are increasingly isolated by their inability to engage socially with younger people. This isolation leads to loneliness and poorer overall health.

The western world is entering a period in which senior citizens make up a larger and larger proportion of the population. Our current healthcare system is already unable to provide effective care to this population and this problem is rapidly getting worse. It is well recognized that we must find ways to care for our senior citizens in their own homes and no longer depend on moving senior citizens into hospitals or other institutional care.

Fundamental to extending the time during which a senior citizen can live independently are the ability to prevent social isolation, deliver timely management of medication, provide specific medical and self-care information and allow caregivers to effectively monitor the well- being of the senior. The most logical way to respond to these needs is via Internet-based communications. Therefore, there is a need to make Internet-based communications accessible to senior citizens.

There have been numerous recent developments in computer software and hardware technology that have greatly simplified access to computer and Internet-based communications. Touch screen devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have provided new ways of interacting with computers that are much more intuitive than older means. Despite this, many seniors still find these interfaces counterintuitive and are still baffled by the need to launch applications or programs, navigate to Web addresses, click on buttons, scroll through screen images, enter user identifications and passwords or touch on-screen controls.

The prior art includes a number of devices that attempt to address the communications needs of senior citizens, including simplified computers (e.g. Wow! Computer from Telikin www.teliken.com; A Plus from A Plus Senior Computer www.aplusseniorcomputer.com); enhanced 'Alarm Panel' devices that are similar to home burglar systems (e.g. Sonamba Medical Alert System www.sonamba.com); and various hybrid device plus software systems (e.g. Care Innovations www.careinnovations.com). Each of these systems address some, but not all the needs of seniors to communicate using the Internet and receive self-care information in their own homes. Further, most do not address the fundamental problem of making computer technology accessible to those who have no experience with computers, are actually afraid of technology, or have physical and mental disabilities that make it difficult to use off-the-shelf technology. Further, devices known in the art fail to address the changing needs of seniors and the need for remote-controlled adaptation to these changing needs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention provides a method for engaging senior citizen in Internet communications which minimizes the need for the senior citizen to physically interact with computer equipment. The invention provides means to push emails, text or other information and messages to a display screen provided for the senior citizen, without any requirement on the part of the senior to enter user names, passwords or otherwise interact with the display screen. In alternate configurations, the invention provides for increasing levels of interaction between the display and the senior as the senior becomes more comfortable with using the invention. In these alternate configurations, the senior may respond to messages, page through photographs or older messages, review upcoming appointments, respond to simple surveys and review sources of medical or other information.

In another aspect, the invention provides for protection of the senior from unsolicited messages by permitting only allowed contacts to send messages to the senior's display screen.

Further, the invention provides means for family members or caregivers to monitor the wellbeing of the senior by providing a means for the senior to check in each day by touching a button or by responding to a daily wellness survey. Family members or caregivers can choose to receive notifications if the senior reads emails, views photos, views the medical information or otherwise interacts with the system, indicating that they are active.

Advantageously, the invention provides for alerts to be sent to family members or caregivers via email or text messaging. Each family member or caregiver can choose what actions, or failures to act, on the part of the senior should generate an alert, and which way that alert should be sent to the family member or caregiver. This allows a group of caregivers and family members to select who shall be responsible for what aspect of the senior's activity monitoring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the preferred embodiment, the method according to the invention is implemented in computer software delivered as web pages. The preferred embodiment is implemented in two parts - the Senior's view and the Administrator's view. The senior's view is typically delivered on a touch-screen tablet computer, while the Administrator's view is typically delivered on a desktop or laptop computer.

In the description of the method that follows, the term "Senior" is used to designate a senior who will normally use the system by viewing the "Senior's view" on a computer terminal which will be referred to as the 'device'. It is to be understood that the term "senior" is used generically to refer to an individual who would benefit from use of the inventions described herein; the term is not limited to individuals of any given age, physical or mental status.

The general term 'Administrator' used in the description below refers to any one of the Senior's 'care team'. There are three types of members of a 'care team', who are referred to as 'Managers', 'Responders' and 'Contributors' - as a group, these three types of members are sometimes referred to as the Care Team and/or caregivers. Contributors can only send messages or upload photographs for a Senior, but cannot make any configuration changes or receive any alerts from the system. Responders can do anything a Contributor can do, but can also receive alerts from the system. Managers can do anything a Responder can do, but can also make any and all changes to the configuration of the Senior's view, add new Seniors, or otherwise manage the system. In the description that follows, the term 'Manager' should be read to include 'Responder' and 'Contributor', and the term 'Responder' should be read to include 'Contributor'.

The Administrator's view is started by logging onto the administration view webpage. This requires entry of the Administrator's email address and a password.

If this is the first time that this particular Administrator has signed onto the system, a new Administrator account will be created. The new Administrator will be given an opportunity to enter their demographic information including their name and address. They are also given the options to enter an email address at which they wish to receive messages from the system and a mobile telephone number at which they wish to receive text messages. Finally, they may upload a photograph to the system. The photograph is used to visually identify them to Seniors and other users of the system.

When the Administrator has completed the creation of their account, they can save the data they have entered. This causes the Seniors page to display. Initially no Seniors are shown. This is also the page that is shown when an existing Administrator logs on.

To begin, the Manager Administrator selects the 'Add Seniors' function. This causes the Seniors Detail page to display. It is on this page that the Manager can set all of the parameters affecting the Senior's view.

To begin, the Manager enters the Senior's demographic information, including name, address, telephone number or other contact information and notes about the Senior. An email address, based on the Senior's name and selected by the system to be unique, is assigned to the Senior. The Manager may choose to upload a photograph of the new Senior for visual identification in other parts of the system. The Senior is also assigned a text message telephone number from a pool of available text message telephone numbers as yet unused for this particular Manager.

Upon saving the Senior's demographic details, the Manager may begin making the remaining settings for the new Senior.

Messages:

On this page, the Manager has three choices affecting how the Senior's view will operate. The Manager may select 'Display Messages Button on Device' which will cause a button labelled 'Messages' to appear in the Senior's view, to be used by the Senior for reviewing messages sent to the Senior as hereinafter described. The Manager may also select the options 'Display Reply Button' and 'Display Compose Button', which enable the display of these buttons on the Senior's device, allowing the Senior to reply to messages or compose new messages as hereinafter described. In the case of the Compose button, the Manager may also select which members of the Care Team will appear on the Senior's screen as potential recipients of messages when the Senior selects the Compose function.

This page also provides a message composition function that allows mangers, Responders or Contributors to compose a text message for immediate display on the Senior's view.

The system also provides a telephone number at which SMS or MMS message may be received. This telephone number is linked to the mobile telephone numbers entered into each Administrator's account. When an SMS or MMS message is sent to the provided telephone number, the system looks up the sending telephone number in the list of those mobile telephone numbers entered into Administrators' accounts, then determines which Senior this particular Administrator is linked to. The system then displays the SMS or MMS message on the appropriate Senior's device. To protect the Senior from unwanted or unsolicited email, the system will only display messages received from email addresses or telephone numbers registered to members of the Care Team. Messages from unregistered email addresses or telephone numbers are discarded. Events:

On this page the Manager may select the 'Display Events Button on Device' option which will cause a button labelled 'Events' to appear in the Senior's view, to be used by the Senior to review scheduled events for the Senior as hereinafter described.

The Manager may also add one or more events for the Senior by selecting the 'Add an Event' button. This allows the Manager to set a start date, an optional end date, a text description of the event, a time of day for the event message to be displayed to the Senior and to optionally select a repetition period for the event. Each time the Manager selects the 'Add and Event' button, a new event may be added. Photo Album:

On this page the Manager may select the 'Display Photos Button on Device' option which will cause a button labelled 'Photos' to appear in the Senior's view, to be used by the Senior to review photographs uploaded by Contributors as hereinafter described.

The Contributor may choose to upload photographs for the Senior by selecting the 'Choose File' button. This allows the Contributor to upload digital photographs from any location accessible to the computer on which the Contributor is working and have those photos become part of the Senior's photo album.

The Contributor may also select the option to 'Play Slideshow on Device' for the Senior. This will cause each of the photographs uploaded to the Senior's photo album to be automatically displayed as the background photograph in the Senior's view in turn.

If the 'Play Slideshow' option is not chosen, the Contributor may select a single photograph from the Senior's photo album to be displayed as the background photograph in the Senior's view. Reminders:

There are two different types of reminders provided by the system - medication reminders and treatment reminders. On the reminders page, the Administrator must choose either medication or treatment reminders.

Choosing the 'Medications' option displays the medication reminders page to show all medication reminders currently active for the Senior. On this page, the Manager may select 'Add Another Mediation' then create a medication reminder by entering a start date, an optional end date, a text description of the medication reminder (which may include the medication name and instruction such as 'take with water' or the like), the time at which the medication reminder is to be displayed and the period on which the reminder should repeat (if desired). The Manager can also set the 'Alert Timing' for this medication reminder. This sets the time period during which the Senior must acknowledge the medication reminder. If this time period elapses without the Senior indicating that the medication have been taken (as hereinafter described), an alert is generated and sent out to those Responders designated to receive such alerts as hereinafter described.

The Manager may add any number of medication reminders by saving each medication reminder and selecting 'Add Another Medication' again to repeat the above procedure.

Choosing the 'Treatments' option displays the treatment reminders page to show all treatment reminders currently active for the Senior. On this page, the Manager may select 'Add Another Treatment' then create a treatment reminder by entering a start date, an optional end date, a text description of the treatment reminder, the time at which the treatment reminder is to be displayed and the period on which the reminder should repeat (if desired). The Manager can also set the 'Alert Timing' for this treatment reminder. This sets the time period during which the Senior must acknowledge the treatment reminder. If this time period elapses without the Senior indicating that the treatment has been completed (as hereinafter described), an alert is generated and sent out to those Responder designated to receive such alerts as hereinafter described.

The Manager may add any number of treatment reminders by saving each treatment reminder and selecting 'Add Another Treatment' again to repeat the above procedure. Call:

On this page, the Manager may select the 'Display Call Me Button on Device' option which will cause a button labelled 'Call Me' to appear in the Senior's view. This button allows the Senior to send out a 'call me' request as hereinafter described.

The Manager may also select one or more of the Senior's Managers, Responders or

Contributors who form the Senior's Care Team from a list displayed on this page. If more than one Senior of the care team is selected, buttons for each of those selected will appear in the Senior's view when the Senior selects 'Call Me', allowing the Senior to choose who they wish to send the 'Call Me' request to.

Check In:

On this page, the Manager may select to have the 'check in' button appear in the Senior's view. There are two ways this can happen - as a button that the Senior may press to 'check in' with selected Responders, or as a scheduled event, in which a 'check in' request is displayed in the Senior's view, requesting the Senior to touch the 'check in' button. If the Manager selects 'Display check-in Button on Device', the first option is selected and the button is displayed in the Senior's view. The Manager may also choose to set the 'Automatically display check-in at' option and select a time of day, which selects the second option and displays the check-in request at the specified time.

The Manager may also set an alert for the check-in function by selecting the time of day by which the Senior is expected to have checked in. If this time of day passes without the Senior using the check-in function, an alert will be sent to the designated Responders.

Wellness Survey:

On this page, the Manager may select to have the 'wellness survey' button appear in the

Senior's view. There are two ways this can happen - as a button that the Senior may press to do the wellness survey at any time, or as a scheduled event, in which a wellness survey request is displayed in the Senior's view, requesting the Senior to select one of the 'Better' 'Same' or 'Worse' buttons. If the Manager selects 'Display Wellness Button on Device', the first option is selected and the button is displayed in the Senior's view. The Manager may also choose to set the 'Automatically display wellness survey at' option and select a time of day, which selects the second option and displays the wellness survey at the specified time.

The Manager may also set an alert for the wellness function by selecting the time of day by which the Senior is expected to have completed the wellness survey. If this time of day passes without the Senior responding to the wellness survey, an alert will be sent to the designated Responders.

Exercise:

On this page, the Manager may select to have the 'exercise' appear in the Senior's view. The 'exercise' button causes an exercise video to be displayed on the Senior's device if they press it.

Generic Survey:

On this page, the Manager may select to have a generic survey appear in the Senior's view at pre-set times and on pre-set intervals. Each time the generic survey is scheduled to appear, a question is displayed along with a number of buttons in the Senior's view. The buttons are each labelled with an available response, such as Yes or No, or another appropriate response. For example, the survey question could be 'What is your blood sugar level today?' with responses of '3.0 or Lower', '3.1 to 5.0' or 'More than 5.0'.

The generic survey also displays a 'Declined' button so that the Senior may choose not to answer the question, or a 'Later' button to put off answering the question for a time. The Manager may choose to select to have an alert sent should the Senior decline the survey or an alert to be sent when the survey is completed.

Web Sites:

On this page, the Manager may select to have a 'Websites' button appear in the Senior's view. The Manager may also create a number of specific website buttons by entering the name of the website to appear on the button in the Senior's view, and enter the URL to navigate to when the button is pressed. For example, the Manager may create a button named 'Google' and enter the URL 'http://www.***.com'. Care Team:

On this page, the care team for the Senior is created and managed. When a new Senior account is created, the Manager creating the account is automatically added to the Senior's care team as an active Manager. The Manager may invite additional members to the Senior's care team by selecting the 'Add another team Member' function. This allows the Manager to enter a name and email address for the proposed team member, and to select a role for the new member. When the setting is saved, a request is sent by email to the proposed team member, inviting them to become a care team member for the subject Senior. If they accept the invitation, their status changes from 'Invited' to 'Active' and they can begin to perform their role as a care team member.

A Manager can set the role for a new care team member to 'Manager', 'Responder' or 'Contributor'. Every Senior must have at least one active Manager, but may have more than one active Manager. If desired, an active Manager (including the one who created the Senior's account) can invite a new Manager for the Senior, then demote themselves to a Responder or Contributor for the Senior, or remove themselves entirely from the care team for the Senior.

On this page, a Responder can invite others to the care team, in the roles of Responder or Contributor. In turn, a Contributor can invite other Contributors to the care team.

Alerts:

On this page, any Responder who is part of the Senior's care team may set the alerts they wish to receive from the system. Each Responder on the Senior's care team may choose to receive alerts for the following events:

Check-In completed

Check-In not completed by set time

Wellness Survey 'Better' selected

Wellness Survey 'Same' selected

Wellness Survey 'Worse' selected

Wellness Survey not completed by set time

Medication Reminders 'Done' selected

Medication Reminders 'Later' selected Medication Reminders 'Skipped' selected

Medication Reminders not responded to by set time

Treatment Reminders 'Done' selected

Treatment Reminders 'Later' selected

Treatment Reminders 'Skipped' selected

Treatment Reminders not responded to by set time

Exercise button selected

Survey completed

Survey declined

Messages read

Senior's device offline

Email received from unknown sender

The alerts will be sent to the Responder using the communication options (email address, text message telephone number) set in their Administrator settings as described above.

In addition to the alerts listed above, any Responder who is part of the Senior's care team may choose to receive a daily Activity Report by email. This report lists all the ways in which the Senior has used the system that day. It provides a single summary of activities rather than a number of separate alerts during the course of a day. Device Settings:

On this page, the Manager may select the option to display the 'On/Off button on the Senior's device. This button allows the Senior to blank the screen on their device if desired.

This page also allows the Manager to assign a particular device to the Senior's account. A unique identification code is entered in the appropriate field on this page of the Administrator's view. The same code is used when setting up the Senior's device, so that the Senior's device will display the Senior's view appropriate to the Senior's account. This allows every Senior to have distinct settings, photographs and operation for their view.

On this page, the Manager may select how long a Senior's device may be offline before creating an alert. This alert is generated by the system server if there is no signal is received from the Senior's device within the set period of time. Typical Use By Administrators:

Once the Senior's account is set up as described above, the Manager may create any number of additional Senior accounts by following the same procedure.

When an Administrator logs onto the Administrator view, they see a list of the Seniors for whom they are Managers, Responders or Contributors. Each Senior is shown as a name, a photograph (if one was uploaded for the Senior) and, if used, a 'Wellness' graph. The Wellness graph shows the most recent 14 choices (Better/Worse/Same) made by the Senior when they completed the Wellness Survey.

Should any alerts be generated for a currently logged-in Responder as a result of a

Senior's actions or inactions, that Senior's entry on the list will be moved to the top of the list, change colour, and display a text summary of the alert. An Acknowledge button allows the Responder to indicate that the Alert is recognized and no longer needs to be displayed.

If the Administrator wishes to make changes to the Senior's account, they may simply click on the Senior in the list. This will open the Senior's account settings as described above.

On the main Administrator view, there is an option to see a list of Caregivers as well. Selecting this option will display a list of all the Managers, Responders and Contributors known to the system. Clicking on any Caregiver in the list will open the Caregiver's profile page. On this page, the Caregiver's demographics or Alert preferences can be seen, but these settings can only be changed if the Administrator is viewing their own profile.

Also on the main Administrator view is a 'Groups' option. Selecting this option opens the Groups page. On the Groups page, a list of all Groups is displayed, along with an 'Add Group' option. If the Manager selects 'Add Group', the 'New Group' page is displayed. On this page the Manager may add a photo or image to represent the group and create a name for the group. Once the group is created, the Manager can add group members by selecting any Senior for whom they are Manager. The Manager can also invite other members to the group's Care Team, by sending invitations to other Managers, Responders or Contributors as described above. Once a Group is created, Contributors who are part of the Group's Care Team can send messages to the Group and Managers can create Events for the Group. In each case, every Senior who is part of the Group will receive the message or event. Typical Use by Senior:

The Senior's view is intended to be displayed on a touch-screen computer, usually a tablet computer. In the preferred embodiment, this ,may be, for example, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 - 10.1 (Samsung Corporation), although tablet devices from other manufacturers would work equally well. The Senior's view is actually a web page, but for simplicity is usually displayed 'full screen' so that the usual navigation controls for the web browser are hidden. In the preferred embodiment, the web browser that is native to the Android operating system (Google Inc.) used by the Samsung tablet is used to display the Senior's view.

In the preferred embodiment, a monitor program is also installed on the Senior's tablet computer. This monitor program operates within the Android operating system to control the operation of the computer, forcing the computer to load the Android web browser and navigate to the Senior's view web page. The monitor program also sends regular messages to the system server so that the server can confirm that the Senior's tablet computer is still operating and performs battery checking and other functions to ensure the continued operation of the device.

When the Senior's device is turned on for the first time, it will request the user to set up the required network connection. This connection may be a WiFi or cellular data connection, depending on the hardware used.

Once the network connection is established, the device will display a unique code number for the device. This number is the one that is entered into the Device Settings page in the Administrator's view as described above. As soon as the number is entered into the Administrator's view, the system server will attempt to contact the Senior's device. When the connection is made and the device numbers are found to match, the Senior's device will load the main page of the Senior's view. The main page of the Senior's view will display the background photo selected in the Photo Album page of the Administrator's view, or will begin a slideshow of the available photos if the Manager selected the Slideshow option for the Senior.

The main page will also display those buttons enabled by the Manager for the Senior, which may include the Messages, Events, Photos, Call Me, Check-In, Wellness, or Exercise buttons. If none of these functions are enabled, no buttons will show on the Senior's main screen.

Messages:

Messages may be sent to the Senior in any one of three ways. A message may be entered into the Message page of the Administrator's view, or sent as a text message from a telephone, or by email to the Senior's unique email address. No matter what the source, the message will be displayed on the Senior's device screen, replacing the usual main page. The message is displayed in large print to make it easy for those with poor vision to read.

With the message is displayed a 'Close' button. Touching this button allows the Senior to return to the main screen. If configured, an alert is generated by the system and sent to any Responder who is configured to receive a message when messages are read.

If the Senior's Manager set the 'Display Messages Button on Device' option, the Messages button will appear on the Senior's main screen. Touching this button will display the most recent message received by the Senior, and should there be any older messages, a 'Previous' button is displayed. Touching the Previous button allows the Senior to review older messages. When older messages are displayed, a 'Next' button is also displayed so that the Senior can review newer messages.

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Reply Button', a 'Reply' button will be displayed along with each message. Touching the Reply button will display a touch keyboard on the Senior's display, along with a 'Send' and 'Cancel' button, allowing the Senior to compose and send a reply to any message, or cancel the operation without sending the message.

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Compose Button', a 'Compose' button appears beside a 'Review' button when the Senior touches the 'Messages' button from the main screen. Touching the 'Compose' button will display the list of Care Team members chosen by the Senior's Manager when setting up the Compose function. If the Senior touches one of the Care Team members' buttons, the device will display a touch keyboard, along with a 'Send' and 'Cancel' button, allowing the Senior to compose and send a message, or cancel the function without sending.

Events:

Events scheduled by the Manager for the Senior will appear automatically on the Senior's screen, replacing the main screen, at the time specified by the Manager. Along with the Event text, a 'Close' button is shown. Touching this button returns to the Senior's main screen.

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Events Button' option for the Senior, and 'Events' button will appear on the Senior's main screen. Touching this button will display a list of all upcoming events for the day, along with a 'Next' button. Touching the 'Next' button will display events for the following day. The Senior may review upcoming events by using the Next button to move ahead and the 'Previous' button to move back through the days ahead.

Photos:

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Photos Button on Device', the

Senior's main screen will display a 'Photos' button. Touching this button will display one of the photos uploaded by the Senior's contributors on the Administrator's page. A 'Next' and 'Previous' button is also displayed, allowing the Senior to page through all the photographs uploaded to their account. A 'Close' button allows the Senior to return to the main screen.

Whether or not the Photos button is displayed, the Senior will receive new photos as they are uploaded in the Administrator's view. As soon as a new photo is uploaded, the Senior's main screen image is replaced with the new photo, along with a message indicating which contributor has uploaded it. A 'Close' button allows the Senior to return to their main screen. Reminders:

There is no button on the Senior's main screen for reminders. Both Medication and Treatment reminders are displayed automatically on the Senior's device at the time specified by the Manager when the reminder is set up.

For both the Medication and Treatment reminders, the Senior is offered three buttons -

'Done', 'Later', and 'Skip'. If the Senior selects Done, the reminders screen is replaced by the Senior's usual main screen. An alert is sent to any Responder who is configured to receive alerts for this event.

If the Senior selects Later, a screen briefly displays with the message 'You will be reminded again in 30 minutes'. An alert is sent to any Responder who is configured to receive alerts for this event. After 30 minutes, the reminder is displayed again, showing all three choices again.

If the Senior selects Skip, the reminders screen is replaced by the Senior's usual main screen and an alert is sent to any Responder who is configured to receive alerts for this event.

Call Me:

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Call Me Button on Device', the Senior's main screen will display a 'Call Me' button. When this button is touched, the Senior will see a message saying Ά Call Me request has been sent' if only one person has been set in the contact list configured by the Senior's Manager. If more than one person has been set in the contact list, the Senior will see buttons labelled with each contact's name. Touching a contact's button will display a message confirming that a Call Me request was sent to that contact, after which the main screen is displayed.

As soon as the system receives a Call Me request, an alert is sent to the appropriate contact, using the alerting methods chosen by the contact, such as email or text messaging. This alerts the contact to call the Senior as soon as practical.

Check-In:

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Check-In Button on Device', the Senior's main screen will display a 'Check-In' button. When this button is touched, the Senior will see a message thanking them for completing the check-in. An alert is sent to the appropriate Responder for this event.

If the Senior's Manager has set the Check-In to automatically display, a Check-In screen will appear on the Senior's device at the configured time. This will prompt the Senior to touch the 'Check-In' button to send an alert to the appropriate Responder for this event.

Wellness Survey:

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Wellness Button on Device', the Senior's main screen will display a 'Wellness' button. When this button is touched, the Senior will see a screen offering three choices: 'Better', 'Same' and 'Worse'. Touching any one of these buttons will return to the Senior's main screen and send an alert to the appropriate Responders for this event.

If the Senior's Manager has set the Wellness survey to automatically display, the three selections will appear on the Senior's device at the configured time. Touching any one of these buttons will return to the Senior's main screen and send an alert to the appropriate Responders for this event.

Generic Survey:

If the Senior's Manager has created a survey, the Senior's screen will display the survey question at the time specified by the Manager, along with one or more buttons labelled with appropriate responses for the Senior to choose from. Additional buttons for declining to answer the question or for delaying the survey for a period of time are also provided. Touching any of the buttons (one of the responses, the decline button or the delay button) will return to the Senior's main screen.

Websites:

If the Senior's Manager has turned on the Websites function, the Senior's screen will display the Websites button. When the button is touched, a new set of buttons is displayed, one for each of the web sites that the Manager has created. Touching any of these buttons will display the website located at the URL specified by the Manager, along with a button marked 'Close' that allows the Senior to return directly to their main screen at any time.

Exercise:

If the Senior's Manager has selected the 'Display Exercise Button on Device', the

Senior's main screen will display an 'Exercise' button. Touching this button will start a video recording of an exercise training regimen chosen for the Senior, along with a button allowing the Senior to cancel the playing of the video. As can be seen from the detailed description above, a Senior may have various levels of interaction with the system through the Senior's view. For Seniors wanting the simplest possible system, their Manager can configure the Senior's device to show no buttons at all, and have all messages, events, photos and reminders display automatically. For Seniors wishing more control over their experience, buttons can be configured to allow them to review messages, events and photos, to complete wellness or check-in functions and to compose or reply to messages.

Regardless of how the buttons on the Senior's device are enabled or disabled, the Senior's device will prioritize messages, reminders and other functions to ensure that the most important information is given displayed at any given time. In order of decreasing priority the preferred embodiment displays Medication Reminders in preference to Treatment Reminders, in turn in preference to Event Reminders, in turn in preference to the display of new messages, incoming photos or other displays. In each case, the highest priority message is displayed on the device and will continue to display until the Senior acknowledges the message (for example by touching 'Done' for a Medication Reminder). Should another Reminder arrive while an unacknowledged reminder is being displayed, it will replace the existing reminder (if it is of a higher priority). Otherwise it will be displayed as soon as the Senior acknowledges the currently displayed Reminder. Should two Reminders of the same priority be queued for display, (e.g. two Medication Reminders), the older Reminder is displayed before the more recent. While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments and certain variations on the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill that the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited to those inventions but extends to the various modifications and equivalents as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of monitoring the wellbeing of a senior, comprising the steps of:

a. providing a first computer with a computer display for the senior, said first computer including a selection means for allowing the senior to select a response to a message displayed on the computer display;

b. causing the first computer to load a first web page on the computer display and causing the first web page to include a message that requires a response from the senior;

c. providing one or more responses on the computer display to choose from; d. recording a response selected by the senior;

e. transmitting a selected response to a recipient.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selected response is transmitted to the recipient by email.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selected response is transmitted to the recipient by Short Message Service or Multimedia Message Service.

4. The method according to claim 2 including the steps of:

a. providing a second computer remote from said first computer;

b. recording at the second computer a list of allowed email addresses;

c. providing an email address for the senior;

d. receiving on the second computer, email addressed to the email address for the senior and recording the source address for the received email ;

e. comparing the source address for the received email to the list of allowed email addresses;

f. discarding the received email if the source address is not on the list of allowed email addresses; g. causing the first web page to display the contents of the received email on the computer display of the first computer if the source address is on the list of allowed email addresses.

5. The method according to claim 1 further including the steps of:

a. recording at a second computer a list of allowed source telephone numbers; b. providing a receiving telephone number to which Short Message Services (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messages may be sent;

c. receiving a SMS or MMS message at the receiving telephone number and recording at the second computer the source telephone number from which the SMS or

MMS message was sent;

d. comparing at the second computer the source telephone number to the list of allowed source telephone numbers;

e. discarding the received SMS or MMS message if the source telephone number is not on the list of allowed source telephone numbers;

f. causing the first web page to display the contents of the received SMS or MMS message on the computer display of the first computer if the source telephone number is on the list of allowed source telephone numbers.

6. The method according to claim 1 including the steps of:

a. allowing an authorized user to upload a photograph to a second computer; b. receiving and storing the uploaded photograph at the second computer; c. causing the uploaded photograph to be displayed on the first web page displayed on the computer display of the first computer.

7. The method according to claim 6 including the step of causing the first web page to display text on the computer display of the first computer, the text including data identifying the authorized user.

8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: a. providing a second computer remote from said first computer and causing the second computer to provide a second web page accessible from any computer connected to the Internet;

b. recording at the second web page a reminder to be displayed on the first web page of the first computer;

c. recording at the second web page a time at which the reminder is to be displayed on the first web page of the first computer;

d. at the time recorded at the second web page, causing the first web page of the first computer to display the reminder.

9. The method according to claim 1 including providing response means at the first computer for the senior to acknowledge the reminder displayed on the first web page of the first computer.

10. A method of monitoring the wellbeing of a senior, comprising the steps of:

a. providing the senior with a first computer having a computer display and causing the first computer to load a first web page on the computer display;

b. providing a second computer and causing the second computer to provide a second web page accessible to any computer connected to the Internet;

c. transmitting a message to the first computer and causing the first computer to display the message, wherein said displayed message requires a response from the senior; d. providing with the message one or more responses for the senior to choose from on the computer display of the first computer;

e. recording a response selected by the senior;

f. transmitting a selected response to the second computer.

11. The method according to claim 10 including the step of transmitting an alert message from the first computer to the second computer if a response is not selected by the senior within a predetermined time period.

12. The method according to claim 1 1 including the step of transmitting the alert message from the second computer to a caregiver.

13. The method according to claim 12 including transmitting the alert message to plural caregivers.

14. A method of monitoring the wellbeing of a senior, comprising the steps of:

b. providing a second computer and causing the second computer to provide a second web page accessible to any computer connected to the Internet ;

c. storing on the second computer a list of authorized users and limiting access to said first computer to the list of authorized users;

d. controlling the content displayed on the first web page of the computer display of the first computer including the steps of:

i. transmitting a message from the second computer to the first computer and causing the first computer to display said message, wherein said displayed message requires a response from the senior;

ii. providing with the message one or more responses for the senior to choose from on the computer display of the first computer;

iii. transmitting a selected response to the second computer; and e. transmitting the selected response from the second computer to at least one of the authorized users.

15. The method according to claim 14 including the step of transmitting an alert message from the first computer to the second computer if a response is not selected by the senior within a predetermined time period.

16. The method according to claim 15 including the step of transmitting the alert message from the second computer to at least one of the authorized users.

17. The method according to claim 16 including transmitting the alert message to plural authorized users.