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Purpose: The home-based rehabilitation of elderly patients improves their autonomy, independence and reintegration into society. Hence, a suitable environment plays an important role in rehabilitation, as do different assistance technologies. The majority of accidents at home involving elderly people occur in the bathroom. Therefore, the planning of the layout of facilities is important in this potentially dangerous area. This paper proposes an approach towards designing and optimizing the layout of facilities in the bathroom, based on logistical and nonlogistical relationships.Methodology: A fuzzy-based analytical hierarchical process (fuzzy-AHP) is then proposed for a comprehensive evaluation of the alternatives for this layout plan. This approach was applied to the home of a 71 years old female patient, who was experiencing home-based rehabilitation. After the initial designing and optimizing of the layout of the facilities in her bathroom, a plan could then be created for her particular needs.Findings: The results of this research could then enable the home-based rehabilitation of elderly patients to be more effective.Value: This paper develops a new approach to design and optimize the layout of facilities in bathroom for the elderly. Implications for Rehabilitation Develop a new approach to design and optimize the layout of facilities in bathroom.Provide a mathematical and more scientific approach to home layout design for home-based rehabilitation.Provide new opportunities for research, for both the therapist and the patient to analyse the home facility layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim:Aging often results in a decline in somatosensory function, and such changes are associated with diminished motor performance. Input noise can enhance sensory and motor function through a mechanism known as stochastic resonance (SR). This paper describes the development and testing of a new vibrating shoe to possibly assist the elderly patients in controlling their balance and decreasing their falling risks. Technique:The new vibrating shoe was evaluated to ascertain its ability to generate appropriate random and nonlinear vibrations. The vibratory shoe performance in two young subjects with decreased foot sensation and two elderly subjects in different static and dynamic balance situations was also evaluated. The postural control, expressed by the stability index (SI), was significantly affected by SR in the older subjects. Discussion:The vibrating motors could be recommended as a suitable solution for dynamic balance situations. Moreover, the new vibrating shoe could improve the age-related balance impairments in elderly subjects with balance deficiencies and others with impaired foot sensations.Implications for rehabilitationsOlder adults exhibited decreased postural stability.Noise signal improves sensation and proprioception in older people.New shoe with vibrating motors can operate in different dynamic situations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]