Active Senior
ActiveSenior is a hybrid healthcare service for ageing populations suffering from sarcopenia. It combines wearable sensors with features such as self-directed diagnostics, personalised workouts, and treatments, helping seniors improve their muscular health on their own initiative. The service creates an environment where elderly individuals, particularly those in small towns with limited healthcare infrastructure, can independently manage their health and promote a healthier lifestyle.
Service
Health
Design
Jeong eun Elin Yoo
Year
2024
What is the core idea behind your submission and why is it important?
The core idea is to help the elderly in small towns with limited healthcare access prevent and treat sarcopenia. It also plays a vital role in improving their digital literacy by assisting them in becoming familiar with digital healthcare services.
Who are the main and secondary users? Which challenges or problems
do they face?
The main users of ActiveSenior are elderly individuals aged 65 and above in small towns or rural areas with limited healthcare access and sarcopenia. They face challenges such as lack of access to healthcare facilities, low digital literacy, and social isolation. Secondary users include family members and healthcare providers, with an alarm service to notify family members of health issues and continuous patient monitoring data that enables healthcare providers to track progress remotely. Additional factors include global ageing, medical disparities based on geographic location, and socio-economic factors, all of which may exacerbate the health outcomes of elderly populations
What is the purpose of the solution? How is the problem solved and the situation improved?
ActiveSenior is designed to help seniors in small towns with limited healthcare access proactively prevent and manage sarcopenia, improving their muscle health independently. Based on interviews with the elderly and statistics on the healthcare access gap between urban and rural areas, the main challenge identified is the insufficient supply of specialised care institutions compared to demand. To address this, ActiveSenior offers a continuous digital healthcare service, including self-diagnosis with a wearable measurement sensor, tailored workout treatments, and a monitoring system. It reduces the risk of complications by empowering users to manage their own health, alleviating the burden on the small healthcare workforce.
Which user research methods were applied? How was the research, design and development process structured? How are the research results reflected in the solution?
ActiveSenior applied various user research methods, including interviews, surveys, and service experiences with seniors, citizen centre staffs, and healthcare providers. The research identified key insights, such as the need for personalised solutions based on sarcopenia severity levels and the importance of user-friendly interfaces to address low digital literacy. Key partners included technology providers for AI-driven wearable sensors, healthcare professionals for treatment protocols, and community centres for offline support. These research results were reflected in the solution by offering tailored treatments, continuous monitoring, and an intuitive interface, ensuring ActiveSenior meets the needs of elderly users in small towns.
What is the essence of the service? What are the most innovative features, what has been improved in comparison to existing solutions? Which technologies are implemented, how do these create value for users?
The essence of ActiveSenior is to help elderly individuals in small towns prevent and manage sarcopenia independently through a hybrid healthcare service combining in-person and virtual care. Unlike existing services with broad targets and unfriendly designs, ActiveSenior provides a clear, specialised care ecosystem for its target group – the elderly. The app has been redesigned with an intuitive interface to help improving digital literacy among elderly users. Adding a power button and battery status indicator on the wearable sensor enhanced user-friendliness. Additionally, the service Integrated with AI-based diagnostic programmes and wearable measurement sensor creates value by reducing regional health disparities.
Which market is the product targeting? How is the service expected to succeed on the market?
ActiveSenior’s business model combines offline support with online subscriptions, complemented by partnerships with medical institutions and community centres. It targets seniors with sarcopenia in areas with limited healthcare access. As the global population ages, the elderly healthcare market is projected to grow. A 2023 UN report states that the population aged 65 and over will reach 1.6 billion by 2050, with the prevalence of sarcopenia rising steadily. The global sarcopenia treatment market, estimated at USD 3.07 billion in 2024, is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6% by 2034. The feasibility of success is supported by increasing awareness of sarcopenia and demand for digital medical services to address regional health disparities.
Which positive impact will the solution have on society and beyond its core target group? Which sustainable principles or resource-saving measures have been implemented?
ActiveSenior empowers not only the elderly but also individuals of all ages to independently manage and prevent sarcopenia, thereby enhancing overall health and well-being. Through the use of AI-driven devices and a hybrid service model, it promotes greater independence and reduces reliance on healthcare facilities. This, in turn, contributes to saving medical costs and alleviating the strain on healthcare resources over the long term. Furthermore, by expanding its application to address other age-related conditions, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, ActiveSenior is poised to make a lasting, positive impact on global population health outcomes.
What else would you like to highlight about your solution that does not fit in the questions above?
An additional key aspect of ActiveSenior that has highlighted is its effective utilisation of idle space in community centres. By repurposing unoccupied spaces, ActiveSenior offers offline support, enabling elderly individuals to engage in face-to-face interactions while improving their digital literacy. Furthermore, the service supports group classes and community workshops, which not only enhance ability to access digital healthcare services but also help reduce social isolation and loneliness—issues commonly faced by the elderly. Through these efforts, ActiveSenior goes beyond merely preventing and managing physical health conditions, such as sarcopenia, by providing a holistic approach that also includes mental health support.
