Full paper: sensors-17-00622-v2

Abstract: The European population is ageing, and there is a need for health solutions that keep older adults independent longer. With increasing access to mobile technology, such as smartphones and smartwatches, the development and use of mobile health applications is rapidly growing. To meet the societal challenge of changing demography, mobile health solutions are warranted that support older adults to stay healthy and active and that can prevent or delay functional decline. This paper reviews the literature on mobile technology, in particular wearable technology, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and wristbands, presenting new ideas on how this technology can be used to encourage an active lifestyle, and discusses the way forward in order further to advance development and practice in the field of mobile technology for active, healthy ageing.

Authors: Jorunn L. Helbostad ^1,†,* , Beatrix Vereijken ^1,†, Clemens Becker ², Chris Todd ³, Kristin Taraldsen ¹, Mirjam Pijnappels ⁴, Kamiar Aminian ⁵and Sabato Mellone ⁶

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway ² Robert Bosch Foundation for Medical Research, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany ³ School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, and South Manchester University Hospital NHS Trust, and Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester M13 9PL, UK ⁴ Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands⁵ Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland⁶ Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy  ^†These two authors share the first authorship.  ^*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.