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9. Five Key highlights of gaps and difficulties are identified below:

i. Society’s Lack of Awareness in the Importance of Technology (Gap 1):

The understanding of the importance of technology within the industry
is largely insufficient and should be greatly enhanced to stimulate more
focus and solutions to improve elderly care. Gerontechnology in Hong Kong
is presently seen as a supplementary product rather than a core functional
foundation for improving the elderly healthcare industry.

An example which can illustrate the case of under-appreciation of technology
within elderly care is the initial development of protective clothing, which was
originally developed as sportswear but then later reapplied to protect seniors
from serious injuries due to falls, however the usage of this protective technology
is still much higher for sportswear in comparison to the elderly industry. Despite
few products are being developed with the silver economy in mind, products
that were invented specifically for the elderly industry also has a very low
acceptance and usage. On the contrary, such innovations when adopted by
other industries, become much more successful, for example, the self-cleaning
fabric produced for elderly users was later adopted by the hospitality industry
and utilised more widely by top-tier hotels rather than the intended elderly user
group.

This is also the case from a government’s perspective, as although the
Department of Health is issuing vouchers under the Elderly Health Care Voucher
Scheme, the vouchers can only be used to purchase medical products or
equipment with professional medical permission, such as prescription glasses or
walking sticks. The market would allow greater opportunities for entrepreneurs
and investors, as more money will be injected into the gerontechnology industry.

ii. Lack of Collaboration (Gap 21-24):

Insufficient collaboration between different stakeholders in the gerontechnology
ecosystem has consequences for business development. Engagement
between universities, research institutes, non-governmental organisations,
government departments and other stakeholders are rare. Although examples
of collaborative efforts do exist in Hong Kong, such as the partnership between
the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) and its
host institute, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), but we need
more collaboration between other R&D centres and universities in Hong Kong
to encourage open dialogues and partnerships between different research
groups to facilitate technology development and transfer.

Another typical example is the difficulty in enhancing the drug handling
workflow with the assistance of technology, demonstrating insufficient
medical-social collaboration. The existing drug handling manual and
rules hinder the use of medicine dispensing machines in residential care
homes for the elderly (RCHE). To fully implement the machine, it will require
the engagement of multiple stakeholders, such as the Social Welfare

8 Executive Summary