New technologies just announced could enable elderly individuals to live independently for longer.

Virginia Tech engineers have developed pants embedded with small printed circuit boards containing microcontrollers, sensors, and communication devices. Gyroscopes and accelerometers are attached to each of an individual’s ankles and knees, and an accelerometer to each hip, and each foot has a piezoelectric sensor attached to the heel.

When the pants detect instabilities in an individual’s gait, the system could notify both the health care facility and the individual, warning them to avoid potentially unsafe walking surfaces.

Scientists at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology have created an insole containing sensors that detect pressure changes when the wearer’s foot moves. The data is sent wirelessly to a computer that could report balance problems to a doctor.

In a related prosthetic development, Rush University Medical Center researchers have designed a shoe with separate zones that flex as it bends, allowing weight to be transferred and reducing the peak load experienced by the knee. It should help reduce wear and tear on the knees and reduce the pain of osteoarthritis in the knees.