A Plug-and-Play Desktop System for Remote Care of Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease

Family members of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) frequently provide care from a distance to support their loved one’s desire to age-in-place. To meet the needs of remote care dyads, we previously developed a multifunction daily management web application for collaborative use by care receivers and caregivers. However, even thoughtfully designed applications offer limited benefit when obscured behind forgotten passwords, complex navigation, and unreliable hardware. Moreover, scalable remote care requires streamlined setup, automated recovery, and remote monitoring capabilities. To address these challenges, we developed a plug-and-play system designed for seamless, persistent access. This solution involved two key steps: (1) selecting user-friendly hardware and (2) optimizing the operating system (OS), firmware, and web browser. Hardware selection was informed by usability testing with older adults with cognitive impairment. System optimization was achieved through a series of automated PowerShell scripts. We field-tested the system in four homes over four weeks. Participants reported high satisfaction with the system’s appearance and automatic login functionality, emphasizing relief at not needing to remember credentials or navigate to the application. Concerns about continuous power usage emerged and will inform future refinements. This pilot demonstrates the feasibility, acceptability, and technical viability of a self-maintaining, plug-and-play desktop infrastructure to support remote caregiving for individuals with ADRD aging in place.