The clever innovations that could keep you out of a nursing home

Ending up in a nursing home is one of the biggest fears for many of us as we get older.

If it’s one of your biggest fears, there is some good news at hand – and it all comes down to technology.

In fact, there are some very clever innovations out there that many are pointing to as helping keep you in your home for longer as you age.

One of these inventions is the glass toaster.

Chief executive ECH, a South Australian aged care provider, David Panter, told the ABC the glass toaster can make a real difference in the lives of elderly people.

He points to elderly people burning their toast as a big indication for many adult children that their parents can no longer after themselves.

“The smoke alarm, for many older people, is linked into a bigger system,”  he said.

“In our experience, false alarms become a black mark against mum or dad, and evidence that they can’t cope at home.

“With a glass-sided toaster you can see the toast brown. It eliminates, in our experience, 100 per cent of smoke alarms going off, and takes away that black mark.”

What other inventions are there?

Well, as you get older and you’re grip becomes weaker, you can be prone to dropping plates and glasses.

Which is where the invention of the Eatwell tableware comes in handy.

Michelle Maalouf from aged care innovation company Aging 2.0 told the ABC about the company’s nine-piece tableware set, which includes cups with suction cups on the bottom.

“The plates are tilted in the right angle, the cups have suction cups on the bottom to avoid spills, the trays can attach to an apron to avoid food spills, and the spoons fit the angle of the bowls to help scoop up soup,” she said.

And then, there is the innovation in clothing.

Maalouf said people not being able to dress properly could lead to social isolation.

She pointed to a range of clothing, Narrative Apparel, that makes it easier for people to get dressed – which included shirts and pants with zippers on the side.

But there is even more technology that could be on its way, including robotic assistants to help keep older Australians in their own homes.

“Technology is cheaper than people,” Maalouf told the ABC.

“It’s cheaper to have a robot helping you rather than having a human caregiver there 24 hours a day.”

What do you think? Do you like the sounds of these innovations?