From improving engagement to assuaging loneliness, supporting caregivers to combating abuse, our globally expanding lifespan means vital aging has become big business — and everyone’s concern.

Last week we looked at how smart shoes, smart shots, virtual “pets” and inspired art are helping seniors stay safer at home, and receive targeted medical care that can reverse once intractable health events.

Here are four additional innovations HECM professionals will want to know about as the Boomer population ages:.

3D Printing: Try This At Home

Picture this: a senior is having trouble swallowing solid foods, so dinner must be pureed to a soup-like consistency in order to avoid a choking hazard. It isn’t much fun to drink every meal like a milkshake. But 3D printing may soon make it possible to print out meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a texture that makes the phrase “melt in one’s mouth” a reality.

Or maybe your reverse mortgage client needs new hearing aids. No need to go the audiologist and pay for another exam and fitting, then wait for the new devices to arrive: 3D printing can customize and replace them immediately.

The same goes for universal design improvements: architects can simulate various types of door handles, for example, then select the model that best conforms to an elder’s hand and grip strength. The possibilities are limitless…

Blood Flow: The Name of the Game

Circulation. It’s what used to keep newspapers in print before everything went digital, and is still what keeps our bodies humming.

When circulation is impeded, we can experience a huge range of health problems, from high blood pressure to varicose veins to unexplained headaches, memory loss to weakening eyesight to fatigue. Doctors typically advise patients to quit smoking, exercise, eat a healthy diet, and reduce stress. All good counsel. But it may not alleviate their problem.

Enter electroceuticals. An FDA-approved, NASA-endorsed medical device known as BEMER uses a patented signal to unblock the body’s own blood circulation pathways. Since we are electromagnetic beings, constantly being bombarded by toxins and electrical frequencies (e.g., WiFi, cell phone towers, smart meters…), electroceutical measures can help restore health. That’s tuning into the right frequency!

Surveillance for Senior Protection

Video cameras have long been used to spot (and often stop) robberies in progress, as well as to catch perpetrators. There hasn’t been nearly as much done to stop a less visible type of crime, however: elder abuse.

Woefully underreported, elder abuse encompasses everything from benign neglect to financial exploitation (which includes all kinds of scams) to identity theft, as well as actual physical abuse. Now, tech innovation is preparing to keep seniors safer.

Established in 2016, the Elder Justice Innovation Grants program, administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds research and projects to reduce the incidence of elder abuse nationwide — and to help those who have been mistreated.

Five grants were awarded last year to nonprofits working to protect elders, such as Rush University, which is testing the effectiveness of using simulated video surveillance equipment to monitor various living situations, including private homes, low-income housing and senior housing (all with the agreement of study participants, of course).

Helping the Caregivers Who Help Seniors

Finally, technology is striving to provide caregivers with the kind of support that makes supporting seniors easier. The need for such assistance is crucial: by 2020, the number of Americans expected to need assistance is projected to be 117 million — yet the number of unpaid family caregivers is projected to reach just 45 million.

Technology can help bridge this gap.

A trio of pilot studies tested a care coordination platform, personal emergency response device (PERS) and a home care aide hiring platform for six weeks. All three options addressed specific caregiver needs, and demonstrated areas where functionality can be improved.