Efficiency of AI elderly caregiving

[Anchor]

They say there are no filial piety in long illnesses, but in this era of super-aged societies, AI technology has stepped in to help care for the elderly.

Reporter Jeong Yeon-wook covers the digital filial piety that is active in nursing hospitals.

[Report]

There are patients in nursing hospitals who have difficulty moving and communicating.

Medical staff cannot let their guard down, 24 hours a day.

[Lee Jun-seong/Neurosurgeon: "There are many chronic diseases in the elderly, so sudden deaths or respiratory difficulties often occur more quickly than in younger people."]

This hospital installed AI radars in each patient room for the first time in the country last year.

The radar sensors check heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation in real-time and send the data to the medical staff.

It can also immediately detect how far a patient has moved from their bed.

[Kang Gi-chang/Administrative Director of Yeongnam Nursing Hospital: "There will be a time difference in the frequency sent and reflected. However, if this person disappears, a gap will appear from their original location. Because a time error occurs, it is quantified to show how many percent they have moved."]

Unlike CCTV, AI caregiving does not raise human rights infringement controversies.

It has the advantage of being able to check the patient's condition without direct contact.

The gaps in nursing care over holidays or late-night hours have significantly decreased since the introduction of AI.

[Kim In-ok/Nurse: "There is less anxiety. Even if we round every 2 hours or 1 hour, even if we go in and come out, problems can still occur. But we can have someone sit here and watch the monitor."]

Frontline nursing hospitals are demanding systematic training for AI caregiving along with expanded government support.

[Nam Chung-hee/Honorary President of the Nursing Hospital Association: "This is something that those who have managed hospitals feel universally. We think that more support is needed in the AI direction rather than relying on manpower."]

If a smart caregiving system based on AI can be introduced in homes, the burden on family caregivers is expected to decrease.

This is KBS News, Jeong Yeon-wook.