‘Smart socks’ to keep dementia carers on their toes by tracking patients’ stress levels

The team thing socks, because older people often find other kinds of wrist-worn wearables uncomfortable and stigmatising.

“The foot is actually a great place to collect data about stress, and socks are a familiar piece of clothing that people wear every day,” said Dr Steer, of Bristol Robotics Laboratory, who founded the company Milbotix to develop the footwear.

“Our research shows that the socks can accurately recognize signs of stress – which could really help not just those with dementia and autism, but their carers too.

Dr Steer quit his job as a software engineer in the defense industry to study wearable technology after his great-grandmother, Kath, began showing the ill effects of dementia, regularly becoming distressed even accusing family members of theft.

After volunteering in a local care home, he realized many residents experienced similar problems.

“I came to see that my great-grandmother wasn’t an isolated episode and that distressed behaviors are very common,” Dr Steer added.