Smart IoT and AI based solution helps seniors in Czech retirement homes

Domov důchodců Jindřichovice pod Smrkem is a social services organisation dedicated to supporting seniors and people with reduced self-sufficiency. It provides residential care in a safe and welcoming environment, focusing on dignity, quality of life and individual needs. The organisation combines professional support with a homelike setting, encouraging social interaction, well-being and active aging.

The primary challenge was to reduce the risk of pressure ulcers by leveraging real-time positioning data, continuous monitoring, and predictive evaluation of seniors' vital signs at the senior home in Jindřichovice pod Smrkem, located in the Liberec region of northern Czech Republic.

The EDIH NEB team aimed to successfully pilot this solution through a "Test Before Invest" service in additional senior care facilities to validate the effectiveness and reliability of the solution across different environments and user groups. The goal was to support the implementation of the HealthReact platform, which enables research into vital signs and behavioral patterns, alongside Anume Care Pads, a smart technology designed for care centers that assesses care quality and monitors vital functions through micro-movement analysis using IoT sensors and AI-based predictive methods.

This initiative contributes to enhancing social sustainability by integrating advanced digital tools such as Anume Care Pads with real-time AI-driven analysis in Jindřichovice pod Smrkem and beyond.

As part of the Test Before Invest service, senior centres in Rokytnice nad Jizerou and Jindřichovice pod Smrkem were able to test smart Anume Care pads from the Centre for Advanced Technologies at the Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Králové (member of the EDIH NEB consortium). 

Thanks to this innovative technology, the senior centres now receive real-time data on residents’ physical activity and environmental conditions. The Anume Care pads are equipped with sensors connected to mobile phones and tablets located at nurses’ stations. If any measured values fall outside of pre-set parameters, the system automatically sends alerts to the relevant devices.

The collected data includes metrics such as step counts, activity levels, and environmental indicators like CO₂ concentration, temperature, and ambient noise. This ensures a continuous stream of accurate information, combined with AI-driven predictive insights, to support higher quality and more responsive care.

In addition to the smart pads, the senior centres were also able to test wearable environmental sensors that monitor CO₂ levels, humidity, temperature, and other indoor air quality parameters—all during a non-binding trial period.

Following successful pilot testing of smart pads for monitoring the positioning and vital functions of seniors, interdisciplinary cooperation among a technology start-up, social service providers and public administration continues. As part of follow-up activities, a professional internship took place at the Senecura SeniorCentrum Liberec facility, which enabled experts from various fields – social services, healthcare and technology – to share experiences and discuss the possibilities of effectively deploying modern IoT and AI based monitoring solutions such as Anume Care pads in everyday practice.

The Liberec Region supported the use of Anume Care smart pads and based on the positive results of the EDIH NEB pilot testing and the follow-up internship, the Liberec Region purchased a total of 20 these smart pads.

The first devices have already been successfully deployed in a retirement home in Jindřichovice pod Smrkem, where the IoT and AI based Anume Care pads improve client supervision, increase safety, facilitate the work of staff and monitor and predict the vital signs of their clients.

Do's – what has proven successful

• Include end users in testing right from the start. Active cooperation with medical and nursing staff significantly improved the user-friendliness and functionality of the solution.

• Pilot the solution in real-world conditions. Testing in nursing homes provided authentic feedback and yielded real data that would not have been available in laboratory conditions.

• Take advantage of interdisciplinary collaboration. The involvement of experts from the fields of healthcare, technology, and public administration contributed to the effective transfer of know-how and wider acceptance of the solution.

• Support the pilot phase with subsidies. Using the Test Before Invest service significantly reduced the barriers to putting the new solution into practice and facilitated decision-making by public authorities.

Don'ts – what to avoid

• Don't neglect the need for staff training. Even intuitive technologies require basic training and support during the operational phase – underestimating this aspect can lead to rejection by users.

• Don´t view the pilot as the final state. The pilot phase should be understood as a basis for further development, optimisation, and scaling – not as the final solution.

• Don't underestimate communication with facility management. Success depends on the active support of management, who must understand the benefits and be interested in implementation.

• Don't separate technology from care. Technology must be a tool, not an obstacle – its use must be consistent with the daily practice of the care team.