Development of Pressure Sensor Based Dementia and Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults

The goal of this intervention program is to test the effectiveness of pressure sensor based dementia and fall prevention program for improving cognitive and physical functions of community dwelling older adults. The main purposes of this study are: 1. Develop a pressure sensor based exercise mat and linked software programs to be used for group training sessions for cognitive and balance training of older adults at a community senior center. 2. Evaluate efficacy of the program to improve cognitive and physical functions of older adults via a pilot study and a main study with randomized control trial design. Older adults will be asked to participate in a group training session that was lead by a fitness coach using a pressure sensor mat, a standing monitor, and a linked software programs. They will be asked to stand on the mat, which is set in front of a monitor to show positions of the mat where they place their foots. The monitor screen will guide them to conduct either a balancing exercise for fall prevention or a cognitive exercise such as memory game or quiz game for dementia prevention. Researchers will compare age and gender matched control group in a main study to see if cognitive and balancing functions of intervention group is better than the control group by conducting pre and post surveys and physical examinations. A pilot study will examine pre-post changes in the intervention group without the control group.