Freeman, now living in Tasmania, where he works as a clinical psychologist, cannot visit her every day. He and his brother, a graphics artist, came up with an idea for using internet technologies to make her life easier.

"My brother, who is … a whiz at making use of new technologies, created something that was very simple," Freeman says. "It was something that she could hang on the wall and use some of the remote computer technology for us to put on slide shows for her, have video conversations with her, play music she enjoyed. She really took to it, really valued the input."

They have called their invention Assistive Independent Systems and it is designed for use by people who have no experience of or understanding of computers. Freeman hopes the prototype, when commercially developed, could help older people (for example, by reminding them of things they need to do) as well as reduce the workload of care staff.

"In Japan they're working on robot technologies to look after aged people, in America they're looking at complex, computer-based artificial intelligence," he says. "We're focusing on how we can use new internet-based communications technologies to empower family friends and carers to support aged people in their own home."

The Freemans' invention is one of several applications being developed worldwide, as ageing societies search for ways technology might relieve increasing pressure on aged-care services. Over the next 50 years, the number of people more than 60 worldwide will go from one in 10 to one in five, or nearly two billion. A shortage of carers is already an issue, so the commercial potential for technology that could help people live independently is enormous. Independent living gadgetry being developed ranges from the stuff of science fiction, such as the University of Massachusetts' "uBOT-5", through simpler web monitoring systems, such as webcams installed in aged relatives' houses. However, the domestic use of so-called assistive technology in independent living aged care is still fairly limited.

"In a real sense, it's a research tool at the moment," says Professor Bruce Barraclough, the medical director at the e-Health Research Centre in Brisbane. "Yes, these technologies are available and they're being used in a small number of places, but it's still not something where the proof is clear enough to say we must do this."

There is certainly demand, especially in Western countries. One estimate is that more than 100,000 people aged 85 or more will have dementia in Australia by 2015. Neurological degenerative diseases increase with age, and so are likely to become more prevalent in the population.

Barraclough lists medication compliance and high-tech monitoring systems as the most promising areas of e-health research in aged care. He says there is also huge potential in the ways health information technology can help aged care facilities, whether in collecting information electronically, point of care decision support, storing and developing care plans, or rapidly communicating to doctor or family.

"But as for the cartoon aspect of barcoding grandma, I don't think we're quite there yet," he says. "Which is a total relief to grandmothers and grandfathers like myself."

Social resistance to outsourcing aged care to gadgets is one reason applications lag behind the technology. But cost and time is the main barrier, Barraclough says.

"Health costs have been rising very quickly over the past 10 years, so there's maybe not quite as much spent on these cutting-edge technologies as you might expect there to be.

"That's largely because all of the research hasn't been done - the technology's been developed but you need to do the research to know its value, to know what the best fit is between now and what might happen in the future, to create the business plans. The capabilities of the equipment don't necessarily always translate to value to the community or the individual until we've looked at it with proper research methods. And that's what the CSIRO e-health centre is doing at the moment."

The TRIL Centre in Dublin (Technology Research for Independent Living) opened in January last year. TRIL, a research-focused collaboration of three universities and the computer multinational Intel, aims to develop innovative technologies to help people "age in place".

Its research focuses on the ways technology may help in three main areas: falls prevention, cognitive function (including dementia) and social connectedness. It is running clinical tests via home deployments of prototype technology in all three areas.

"Falling is one of the key prohibitive factors for anyone to remain independent," says the centre's Seamus Small, "[There's] the physical and psychological injury, the scars, and loss of confidence. We are developing a platform where [health carers] can monitor and measure a person's gait and hopefully [predict] if there is some early signs or indications of falling or losing balance.

"One of the projects is to look at alertness. This is an issue in terms of falling, loss of concentration, forgetfulness, potentially leaving the pot on or forgetting keys. So we're trying to use [the brain's] electrical activity as a feedback barometer for alertness.

"We're also trying to build on an older person's social connectedness. Obviously socially isolated people will tend to show some signs of some mental ill health such as depression. In the onset of dementia, interaction may be a factor."

Despite the massive potential market, commercialisation of gadgets is not the focus of TRIL.

"It is a huge market, a huge opportunity and there's going to be a lot of wins out of this, no doubt," Small says. "We have an industrial partner, too, and they see a potential win. But at this stage we have to be careful that we're not looking to commercialise too quick, because when it gets to the technology stage we have to make sure we've done the ground work in terms of "Is this technology going to be helpful?' It may make commercial sense but it may not make practical sense and health sense."

TRIL's 70-person interdisciplinary team includes doctors, psychologists, anthropologists, social scientists and technologists.

"The interdisciplinary nature is breaking through barriers that independently these disciplines may not be able to achieve," Small says.

There may well be ethical or moral concerns about outsourcing aged care to technology.

"We do it now, don't we?" Professor Barraclough says. "Have you been into an intensive care room recently? There's more gadgets than people."

Still, he stresses that any use of technology in aged care must have clinically proven benefits. As for continual video monitoring of aged relatives, "that doesn't seem to be something that's easily acceptable in our community, and you can understand that. Except perhaps in high-dependency areas where people are virtually incapable of looking after themselves, that might not be a socially appropriate way to go."

TRIL has done some research into social acceptance levels of web monitoring systems in aged person's homes.

"What we have identified is there's no one-size-fits-all solution," Small says. "One person would say, 'I don't mind being watched 24-7 as long as I can stay in my home', while another person says 'I prefer to have some privacy, even if that means I'm in institutional care'. It has to be flexible and adaptable. The key thing is that it's not technology for technology's sake."

Brad Freeman also doubts that technology will provide all the answers to the looming aged-care crisis.

"But I do think the technology can support and [allow] people to do a better and more efficient job in how we provide care. What's happening for the baby boomer generation like myself is we're affluent but time-poor. If we could get our solution up and running, geography wouldn't make a difference. I'd still be able to provide quite a reasonable level of support and care and responsiveness that's really customised to my mum or dad."