Drink Smart – Development of a Smart Drinking System to Prevent Dehydration in Older Adults.

With "Drink Smart", the degree programs Nursing Science, Health Sciences and Engineering in the research field of Active Assisted Living are developing an intelligent drinking system that measures and checks the daily fluid intake, especially of older people. Essential for the success is the cooperation of different disciplines from nursing science, health sciences and engineering as well as cooperating companies from the fields of software, home health care and the production of drinking cups. Together, the smart drinking cup will be programmed, manufactured, and tested. The drinking cup will measure, record and process data and will be networked with digital care documentation - its auxiliary function will range from a reminder to an alarm to the mobile care service. Elderly people or authorized persons have independent access to the data - either by means of an app on a cell phone or a PC. Usability is at least as important as the technical components. Overall, this development will help prevent increasing dehydration in old age, facilitate the management of chronic diseases and enable older people to live independently at home.