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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Digit. Health

Sec. Human Factors and Digital Health

Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1603062

This article is part of the Research TopicSmart wrist devices for elderly peopleView all articles

Feasibility and Acceptability of an In-Home Digital Device Health and Activity Assessment Platform in a Diverse South Texas Cohort: A Pilot Study

Provisionally accepted
Julia J. MathewsJulia J. Mathews1*Rachel MulavelilRachel Mulavelil1,2Nathaniel RodriguesNathaniel Rodrigues3Tiffany F. KautzTiffany F. Kautz1Kevin CosgroveKevin Cosgrove3Chen-Pin WangChen-Pin Wang1Daniel MacCarthyDaniel MacCarthy1Roman A FernandezRoman A Fernandez1Sarah GothardSarah Gothard3Nicole SharmaNicole Sharma3Luis SerranorubioLuis Serranorubio1,4Vanessa M. YoungVanessa M. Young1,5Lyndsey MillerLyndsey Miller3Sudha SeshadriSudha Seshadri1,6Jeffrey KayeJeffrey Kaye3Zach T. BeattieZach T. Beattie3Mitzi M. GonzalesMitzi M. Gonzales1,7*
  • 1Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States
  • 2Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
  • 3Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States
  • 4Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, United States
  • 5Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States
  • 6Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 7Department of Neurology, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Introduction: Health tracking technologies hold promise as a tool for early detection of cognitive and functional decline. Methods: This pilot study of 5 households (N=7 residents, mean age: 74 (5), 71% Hispanic, 14% Black) used the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology (ORCATECH) platform to evaluate the technology and acceptance of the technology over a oneyear interval in South Texas. Cognitive assessments and other surveys were administered at baseline and end-of-study visits. Results: Participants felt comfortable with the technology in their homes (86% Very Satisfactory or Satisfactory) and did not express privacy concerns (100% Very Satisfactory or Satisfactory). Conclusion: Health, cognition, and activity measures did not significantly change from baseline to end-of-study. Depression scores significantly improved (p=0.034). The ORCATECH platform was an acceptable method of analyzing health and activity in a small, but diverse older population.

Keywords: Aging, Cognition, daily life, digital biomarkers, older adults, Technology, wearables

Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Mathews, Mulavelil, Rodrigues, Kautz, Cosgrove, Wang, MacCarthy, Fernandez, Gothard, Sharma, Serranorubio, Young, Miller, Seshadri, Kaye, Beattie and Gonzales. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Julia J. Mathews, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, 78229, Texas, United States
Mitzi M. Gonzales, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, 78229, Texas, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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