Supplementary Material for: Potential Applications of Smart Multifunctional Wearable Materials to Gerontology

Smart multifunctional materials can play a constructive role in
addressing some very important aging-related issues. Aging affects the
ability of older adults to continue to live safely and economically in
their own residences for as long as possible. Thus, there will be a
greater need for preventive, acute, rehabilitative, and long-term health
care services for older adults as well as a need for tools to enable
them to function independently during daily activities. The objective of
this paper is, thus, to present a comprehensive review of some
potential smart materials and their areas of applications to
gerontology. Thus, brief descriptions of various currently available
multifunctional smart materials and their possible applications to
aging-related problems are presented. It is concluded that some of the
most important applications to geriatrics may be in various sensing
scenarios to collect health-related feedback or information and provide
personalized care. Further described are the applications of wearable
technologies to aging-related needs, including devices for home
rehabilitation, remote monitoring, social well-being, frailty
monitoring, monitoring of diabetes and wound healing and fall detection
or prediction. It is also concluded that wearable technologies, when
combined with an appropriate application and with appropriate feedback,
may help improve activities and functions of older patients with chronic
diseases. Finally, it is noted that methods developed to measure what
one collectively manages in this population may provide a foundation to
establish new definitions of quality of life.