Joseph F. Coughlin, director of MIT's AgeLab, testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging about technology-enabled innovations to support our aging society.
In his April 27 testimony, titled "Assistive Technologies for Independent Aging: Opportunities and Challenges," Coughlin highlighted work being done at MIT in the areas of transportation, telemedicine and technology development in retail health services.
Coughlin recommends that the government promote innovation by creating markets through tax incentives for companies that develop and commercialize new technologies, as well as for individuals who purchase technology-enabled services to assist their aging parents.
Among those testifying were researchers and representatives from Intel, the University of Michigan and the Alzheimer's Association.
For more information, including a PDF copy of Coughlin's testimony, go to http://aging.senate.gov (click on "Hearings").
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 12, 2004 (download PDF).
