This would seem to be incredibly important for stroke survivors. But I bet it is not important enough for your doctor and hospital to follow this and get it in the outpatient department as soon as it is available.
This may have caught the fall where I slid under the car in winter trying to clear snow off.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=160824&CultureCode=en
New sensor will make life safer for the elderly
Pressure measurements enable a newly developed fall detector to
“observe” falls that current sensors do not register, thus improving
safety for older people who live at home.
Technology and health: Many elderly people would like to live at home
as long as possible, but to do so, they need to feel safe. A new fall
detector that SINTEF researchers are helping Tellu AS to develop will
improve their level of personal safety. It is capable of detecting all
types of fall, even sinking falls, which currently available products do
not register.
This type of fall is particularly difficult to detect because the
g-forces involved are small, since the falling movement takes place
almost in slow motion. A sinking fall doesn’t involve significant
g-forces; “in a sinking fall, the victim may simply slide down a wall or
off the edge of a bed, and end up sitting on the floor,” says SINTEF
scientist Anders Liverud.
Registers all stypes of fall
The newly developed fall detector registers falls by comparing
pressure changes between a sensor attached to the user’s upper body and
others installed at various points around the house.
When the pressure in the sensor attached to the body rises, it notes
that the user is falling,” explains Liverud, who points out that the
sensor will detect the fall no matter how rapidly or slowly it takes
place.
“Unlike ordinary barometers, which measure absolute atmospheric
pressure, our sensors measure changes in pressure. This provides much
more accurate readings that are sensitive to changes in altitude of as
little as one centimetre, enabling the detector to register all changes
in the position of the user.
The pressure measurement technology involved is not new as such,
being the same as aircraft use to register changes in altitude, but this
is the first time it has been employed in a fall detector.
Filters changes in pressure
The biggest challenge faced by the researchers involved finding a
method of filtering out pressure changes that are not due to a fall,
such as a door being opened or a ventilation system being switched on.
“Here, we have arrived at a number of smart solutions that enable us
to distinguish between falls and pressure changes due to other causes,”
says Tellu’s development manager Knut Eilif Husa, who prefers not to say
anything more specific at the moment, as the company has applied for
patents on several of its methods.
Current pressure sensors rely on measuring acceleration and
orientation, which means that they are dependent on a certain level of
acceleration and on ending up in a horizontal position in order to
register a fall.
“Such sensors tend to be inaccurate, because they do not register all
actual falls but may also report too many false alarms,” explains Husa.
Will ensure instant help
Through the HEADS project, which is financed by the European Union,
the research team has developed a software platform that checks that all
the units are operating reliably, thus enabling the fall detector to
communicate with an emergency centre.
Bluetooth technology connects the sensor to a safety alarm device or
telephone so that the user can count on receiving help almost
immediately.
“If you do fall, a rapid response is vital. Research has shown that
injuries become more serious the longer you have to wait for help. By
reducing the time between falling and getting assistance, we can reduce
the rates of both morbidity and mortality.” says Liverud.
More people will be able to continue living at home
Today, fifty per cent of the alarms received from manually triggered
safety devices are due to falls, which are the largest single cause of
accidents in the home, and falls often lead to elderly persons being
institutionalised.
Many people who fall enter a vicious circle, as they isolate
themselves in their homes, no longer dare to leave the house and more
easily lose their sense of balance, making them more likely to fall
again. Solutions of this sort that reassure people that their falls will
be registered by the system are very valuable, and are an important
means of enabling them to live longer in their own homes, say the
researchers.
“We have put a great deal of effort into this topic in recent years,
but the technology has not been mature enough until now. We believe that
this fall detector will offer elderly people a sense of security that
will enable them to lead an active life without supervision” says
Liverud.
Box 1: The World Health Organization has estimated that about a third
of all persons over the age of 65 fall every year, and that 50 per cent
of all injury-related hospital admissions in this group are due to
falls. Around 40 per cent of all deaths resulting from injury are due to
falls.
Box 2: SINTEF and Tellu AS have developed and tested the fall
detector in the course of a one-year pilot project financed by the Oslo
Regional Research Fund and the European Union’s HEADS project, which
develops software platforms for “Internet of Things” (IoT) applications.
SINTEF and Tellu are currently applying for further funding for a main
three-year project that will prepare the fall detector for the market,
by when it will be capable of being incorporated into all types of
safety alarm system.
According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, 73,000
safety-related alarms were registered in 2010 in Norway. This figure is
expected to increase significantly in the next few years as more and
more new welfare technologies become available.
http://www.gemini.no/en/
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