Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05063045

Smart-Cloth Care System for Dementia

The purpose of this study is to develop and examine the preliminary effects of a smart cloth care system for facilitating family caregiving for persons with dementia in the home setting. This will be a three-year study, with the first two years to explore the feasibility of such a smart cloth care system and the third year to pilot test its effects. During the third year, a quasi experimental design will be implemented and the outcomes of caregivers and persons with dementia will be followed for 6 months.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Age range

20 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Loading trial locations.

About this study

The purpose of this study is to develop and examine the preliminary effects of a smart cloth care system for facilitating family caregiving for persons with dementia in the home setting. A smart-care model, using smart clothing with a remote monitoring system, was developed to assist home-nursing care. Older persons with dementia are asked to wear a smart vest, which contained a coin-size monitor in a hidden inner pocket. Sensors are installed in bedrooms and living areas to receive signals from the smart clothing. Alarm at door, emergency button and smoke detector are also installed. The signals and emergency information are transmitted to the mobile phones of responsible home care nurses, who have downloaded an app to their phones. After the home care nurse receive a sensor signal, she would then give feedback to family caregivers about the care receiver, including emergency calls, frequent getting up at night, staying in the bathroom for more than 30 minutes, inadequate or abnormal activity level, not moving during the day for more than 2 hours, leaving the house alone, and a sensor being disconnected from the system. Based on information and signals from smart-care sensors, home care nurses will discuss caregiving activities and planning with family caregivers.Participants were asked to wear smart clothing for at least 4 days/week for 6 months. A home care research nurse will visit the home setting to assess it for sensor installation and suggest environmental modifications for potential hazards. A second visit will be made by an engineer with the research nurse to install the sensors. The research nurse visit the participants' homes once a week during the first month and once every month from the second to third month after the sensor installation to conduct in-home interventions and resolve problems using the smart-care system.

During the first two years, this smart cloth care system will be developed. During the third year. The investigators plan to recruit at least 60 participants and randomize them into an intervention group (N=30) that receives the smart cloth care model and a control group (N=30) that receives usual care. Patient and caregiver outcomes will be followed every two months for a period of 6 months after the smart cloth care system has been implemented. Finally Intention-to-treat and hierarchical linear models will be used to analyze the results.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Older persons were included by these criteria:

age 60 or older diagnosed with dementia, or received surgery for a hip fracture could walk independently or with assistance living with family members in northern Taiwan.

Family caregivers were included by these criteria:

  • 20 years old responsible for providing direct care or supervising care received by the patient.

Exclusion criteria

Terminal ill Living in institution

Treatment and study plan

smart-cloth assisted home nursing care

Behavioral

Older persons with dementia or hip fracture were asked to wear a smart vest, which contained a coin-size monitor in a hidden inner pocket. Sensors were installed in bedrooms and living areas to receive signals from the smart clothing. The home care nurses then gave feedback from the sensor signals to family caregivers.

Primary outcomes

  1. Time UP and Go

    Time frame: two months after installation

    Time spends while stand from an armed chair, walk for three meters and come back to sit down

  2. Time UP and Go

    Time frame: four months after installation

    Time spends while stand from an armed chair, walk for three meters and come back to sit down

  3. Time UP and Go

    Time frame: six months after installation

    Time spends while stand from an armed chair, walk for three meters and come back to sit down

  4. Barthel Activity of Daily Living Scale

    Time frame: two months after installation

    dependency in activities of daily living, 0-100, higher score indicate better activities of daily living.

  5. Barthel Activity of Daily Living Scale

    Time frame: four months after installation

    dependency in activities of daily living, 0-100, higher score indicate better activities of daily living.

  6. Barthel Activity of Daily Living Scale

    Time frame: six months after installation

    dependency in activities of daily living, 0-100, higher score indicate better activities of daily living.

  7. IADL self-care ability

    Time frame: two months after installation

    dependency in instrumental activities of daily living

  8. IADL self-care ability

    Time frame: four months after installation

    dependency in instrumental activities of daily living

  9. IADL self-care ability

    Time frame: six months after installation

    dependency in instrumental activities of daily living

  10. cognitive function

    Time frame: two months after installation

    Mini-Mental State Examination

  11. cognitive function

    Time frame: four months after installation

    Mini-Mental State Examination

  12. cognitive function

    Time frame: six months after installation

    Mini-Mental State Examination

  13. Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: two months after installation

    Health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

  14. Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: four months after installation

    Health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

  15. Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: six months after installation

    Health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

  16. Preparedness scale

    Time frame: two months after installation

    caregiver preparedness for caregiving, 10-50, higher score indicate better preparedness

  17. Preparedness scale

    Time frame: four months after installation

    caregiver preparedness for caregiving, 10-50, higher score indicate better preparedness

  18. Preparedness scale

    Time frame: six months after installation

    caregiver preparedness for caregiving, 10-50, higher score indicate better preparedness

  19. Centre for epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

    Time frame: two months after installation

    caregiver depressive symptoms, 0-60, higher score indicate more depressive symptoms

  20. Centre for epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

    Time frame: four months after installation

    caregiver depressive symptoms, 0-60, higher score indicate more depressive symptoms

  21. Centre for epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

    Time frame: six months after installation

    caregiver depressive symptoms, 0-60, higher score indicate more depressive symptoms

  22. caregiver balance scale

    Time frame: two months after installation

    caregiving balance between competing needs, 0-3, higher score indicate more balanced

  23. caregiver balance scale

    Time frame: four months after installation

    caregiving balance between competing needs, 0-3, higher score indicate more balanced

  24. caregiver balance scale

    Time frame: six months after installation

    caregiving balance between competing needs, 0-3, higher score indicate more balanced

  25. Caregiver Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: two months after installation

    caregiver health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

  26. Caregiver Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: four months after installation

    caregiver health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

  27. Caregiver Medical Outcome Short Form-36

    Time frame: six months after installation

    caregiver health-related quality of life, from 0-100, higher score representing better health related quality of life

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Development and Preliminary Effects of Smart Cloth Care System for Persons With Dementia

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Sep 30, 2021
Registry last updated
Nov 21, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.