Smart products for the care sector have great potential to support patients and relieve the burden on care staff. With the right networking in the Internet of Things, this can develop to its full potential.

Overtime and double shifts, too much bureaucracy and low pay – these are just some of the reasons why nursing staff give up their profession. The rate of drop-outs further exacerbates the shortage of specialists in the healthcare sector. The Hans Böckler Foundation therefore asked former and part-time nursing staff under what circumstances they would return to their profession. Among the motivations cited by respondents were staffing levels that are actually geared to the needs of people in need of care, better pay, reliable working hours, simplified documentation and more time to care for patients. Digital solutions such as networked drinking cups, emergency call watches and implants can help here.

The Internet of Things (IoT) uses sensors, data transmission technology and analytics to turn conventional products into intelligent, networked products. In the concept of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) for senior citizens, patients or people with disabilities, for example, a networked dispenser recognizes whether a medication is being taken regularly; activity trackers check whether the wearer is following the recommendations of doctors and physiotherapists; a networked scale or blood pressure monitor gives the doctor remote indications of the patient’s state of health. In the case of mobile products, mobile radio is particularly suitable for transmitting measurement data thanks to its reliability, worldwide distribution and security standards.

These “Smart Connected Products” also include the SmartCup from LAQA, a smart drinking cup for care facilities. Because we drink too little, especially in old age. Our body needs a regular supply of water for various reasons: to regulate its temperature, to transport nutrients and oxygen in the blood or to excrete toxins. This is why the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends drinking at least 1.5 liters of liquid every day. But not everyone manages to do this, whether due to a supposed lack of time, forgetfulness or a lack of thirst.

Possible consequences of dehydration    med.: Volumenmangel der extrazellulären Flüssigkeit, u.a. des Blutplasmas – dem Körper wird weniger Flüssigkeit zugef... include headaches, dizziness, disorientation or concentration problems and even kidney failure, urinary tract infections and joint inflammation.  Symptoms can already occur with a water loss of the body of one to two percent. A British study has shown that even mild dehydration impairs driving ability as much as a blood alcohol level of 0.8 per mille.

Nevertheless, 27 percent of men and even 39 percent of women do not drink enough, according to a Forsa survey commissioned by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK ). This can be a problem for older people in particular, as both the body’s water content and the feeling of thirst decrease with age. 27 percent of respondents over the age of 60 stated that they only drink when they feel thirsty. But by then it is already too late, dehydration and its consequences have often already set in.

Care in facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes faces a particular challenge here. Depending on the level of care, the nursing staff are required to keep a daily written drinking log. This not only costs time – on average, medical staff in outpatient and inpatient care spend more than 30 percent of their working time on administrative tasks – but is also prone to errors. Nursing staff must also constantly remind patients to drink regularly.

The start-up LAQA from Sauerlach in the district of Munich has developed a networked drinking cup to meet these challenges. The SmartCup uses integrated sensors to record the user’s drinking behavior and uses light, sound or vibration to remind them to drink regularly and sufficiently. The sensor system also detects whether and how much the patient has drunk or whether they have spilled something, for example because a drinking cup has tipped over.

In order to reliably network the cup, Deutsche Telekom supported LAQA with its TechBoost start-up program and the IoT Solution Optimizer in selecting the right wireless technology for the mobile network and hardware. A radio module in the base of the cup transmits the sensor data in the Telekom network via the energy-saving NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) mobile communications standard to the Open Telekom Cloud for documentation and analysis in encrypted form and in compliance with data protection regulations. Software compares the amount drunk with the patient’s individual recommended daily intake and calculates the time for the next drinking reminder in real time. The amount drunk is automatically transferred to the patient’s personal drinking log via an interface (API) and can be accessed via an online portal.

The networked drinking cup brings benefits for everyone involved: people in need of care are automatically and reliably reminded to drink and no longer run the risk of dehydration. Regular fluid intake promotes their general state of health.
The nursing staff have an overview of the drinking status of the care recipients at all times. They are also informed immediately if their patients have not drunk for too long or have knocked over a cup. The nursing staff receive a digital overview of drinking behavior, no longer have to keep a drinking log and can use the time saved for individual care.

In future, LAQA’s intelligent drinking cups will also be able to detect hand tremors in Parkinson’s patients. According to the manufacturer, the data on drinking behavior could also help to improve health in cases of incontinence or obesity. Thanks to Telekom’s networking, LAQA can offer its customers a constant stream of new services.