GSA Honors Sajay Arthanat for Using Technology to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults
Sajay Arthanat, professor of occupational therapy, was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Rehabilitation of Aging Persons Award at the recent Gerontological Society of America (GSA) annual meeting in Boston.
The award recognizes individuals who have advanced rehabilitation and quality of life for older adults through research, teaching, clinical care, policy, and leadership.
Arthanat specializes in helping people overcome physical challenges by using supportive technologies. His research examines how tools like wearables, robotics, and smart-home systems can be designed around people’s needs to improve health and help them live more independently.
“The award is quite humbling for me, realizing some of the distinguished researchers and clinicians who have received it in the past,” Arthanat says. “It also sends me a strong message to continue with my line of inquiry — that thoughtfully co-designed technologies could have a significant long-term impact on the health and independence of the aging population.”
Arthanat is currently collaborating with colleagues in engineering, nursing, and kinesiology on a major project developing a socially assistive robot to help older adults with dementia maintain independence and improve daily functioning at home. The project has entered a pivotal phase, with the robot now being tested in five households as part of ongoing home-pilot studies.
“Emerging AI-integrated technologies such as robotics and wearables have clear potential to promote and sustain healthy aging,” Arthanat says. “However, these technologies by nature are inherently too complex for older adults to grapple with. The co-design research strategies we have developed aim to bridge this gap by optimizing the user interface, real-world feasibility, and long-term acceptance.”
Arthanat gave a lecture at the GSA annual meeting and participated in two panels: one exploring systems and algorithms for eldercare robots, and another examining how socially assistive robots can support person-centered dementia care.
