Dr Zeke Steer
Founder and CEO, Milbotix
Socks fitted with AI technology can help carers recognise early signs of distress in people living with dementia so that appropriate calming interventions can be made.
A family crisis prompted Dr Zeke Steer to create an innovative wearable technology that detects distress in people living with dementia.
AI socks to detect distress early
“My great-grandmother was diagnosed with dementia,” he says. “Her aggressive and agitated behaviour became very challenging and my family were eventually left with no option but to place her in a care home.”
This agitation and aggression were the result of pain, anxiety and confusion linked to the dementia. A particular challenge for caregivers is recognising signs of distress — especially in people with communication difficulties — before they manifest into something more serious.
Dr Steer’s research at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory led to the design of AI-enabled socks fitted with sensors that measure pulse, temperature, sweat and motion. Caregivers are alerted to the wearer’s distress, enabling timely care interventions.
In care home trials, people living
with dementia found SmartSocks
to be comfortable and familiar.
Sensors pick up stress signals from sweat glands
Socks might not be the most obvious wearable dementia technology, but there are reasons they work well. “In care home trials, people living with dementia found SmartSocks to be comfortable and familiar. In contrast, wrist-worn devices can be intrusive and add to distress, leading to their removal,” says Dr Steer. “There’s also a biological reason for favouring socks over a wristband. One of our sensors measures a sweat response called electrodermal activity. The soles of the feet have among the highest densities of sweat glands on the body.”
Dr Steer is founder and CEO of digital health company Milbotix. Milbotix is funded by Alzheimer’s Society through the Accelerator programme, with UK Dementia Research Institute among its collaborators. The socks are intended for use by families, domiciliary carers and care home staff and are now in care home trials.
“Following the painful experience with my great grandmother, I’d like to see SmartSocks helping people living with dementia thrive in whatever place they call home. The next version of the product will measure vital signs, track digital biomarkers of disease and help prevent falls,” says Dr Steer.
Contact Milbotix if you’re interested in piloting SmartSocks in your service.
