Nursing home residents are exercising at TMZ

Silverfit, a well-thought-out name, allows residents to get moving again. Silverfit is an application that the elderly can use to get some exercise using innovative technology. The residents of TMZ’s nursing homes can perform various tasks on a flatscreen, and a 3D camera detects both small and large movements so that every client can participate.

Residents can get on their bikes, and a route of their choosing will appear on the flatscreen. This allows them to cycle through foreign countries, through the Netherlands, or even through the area where they used to live.

The application can be connected to all kinds of leg trainers, such as exercise bikes, treadmills, or even bed bikes. The Silverfit stimulates people to keep cycling because the surroundings are very lifelike and constantly changing. The speed at which the landscape passes by will also speed up or slow down depending on how fast the pedals are turned, just like in real life.

The residents of TMZ’s nursing homes can also get exercise in other ways than cycling. They can get exercise through various games, for example, or they can go for a dance.

Geriatric physiotherapist Nicole Elkerbout thinks this is a great invention. She is very enthusiastic about the system, also because there are different applications for different target groups.

A 3D variant has also been purchased, and it can be used to train gross motor skills. Users still see images with this type, but the computer can recognise the user’s movements. Yet another version, the Silverfit Newton, allows physiotherapists to adjust the device in a way that enables the user to train the muscle strength of their arms or legs. 

There is a separate Silverfit for people with dementia: the Alois. It can be used to improve both gross and fine motor skills. The carers use musical games and videos of animals and places in the Netherlands as a link for the user. They can also keep track of whether the user performs the movements correctly so that stamina and muscle strength are improved, and no injuries occur.

Families can provide pictures or videos that they know will appeal to the resident. They are added to the system with a USB stick. Each user has a personal code so that the images can only be viewed by who it was intended for.

Employees and volunteers at TriviumMeulenbeltZorg also get on their bikes –outside– themselves, to record images for their residents and clients.

TMZ also has some added measures because of corona, just like everywhere else: the ‘sit-dance’ class that people usually follow as a group has been recorded, so that people can do the exercises on their own. Supervision is not necessary, so this also reduces the number of contacts.

Nicole is full of praise for the Silverfit: “everyone thinks it is fun and informative.”