Dear Editor,

We read with great interest the study by Ikeda et al. [1], which found that the ability to use everyday technology (ET) and to manage refrigerator content begins to decline at the subjective memory complaints (SMC) stage. In the age of the Internet of Things, smart home-based ETs, including refrigerator, microwave, and remote control, could be connected to a central system and be controlled with input from sensors (e.g., temperature control and recognition of refrigerator contents). As integrating existing technology presents an important opportunity to promote successful aging for older adults with SMC [2], we have the following suggestions.

In our previous preliminary work, we found that voice-activated smart speakers (e.g., Google Home or XiaoAI) were used by older adults for functionalities such as playing music or controlling other smart home devices. We also found that smart speakers could potentially decrease loneliness and social isolation for older users [3]. As the study by Ikeda et al. [1] demonstrated that older adults with SMC could make the mistake of keeping a lot of the same food in the refrigerator, we believe that connecting smart refrigerators to smart speakers could decrease such a nutritional hazard. Not only that, we suggest future studies should incorporate evaluations of ability to use smart speakers and other smart home-based ETs in order to further support older adults to continue living at home for as long as possible.

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

There was no funding for this letter.

Benjamin K.P. Woo, Jamie O.P. Chung, and Sara Shu all performed the literature review and contributed to the manuscript drafting.

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