EverWrist: A Novel Electronic Fall Monitor for Seniors

EverWrist：一款适合老年人的新型电子跌倒监视器

• 批准号: 7746342
• 负责人: B EUGENE PARKER
• 金额: $ 17.49万
• 依托单位: BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-15 至 2011-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7746342
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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The majority of elders prefer to lead an independent lifestyle, with a minimum of caregiver intervention. Many seniors, however, are frail and suffer from imbalance as a result of their health status; they are at risk for falls and would benefit from having some type of "safety net" in place. Studies have shown that half of elderly fallers have problems getting up without assistance after they have fallen; all are at risk of being left unconscious following a fall event, whether they live alone in the community or in an elder-care setting. To address this problem, Barron Associates proposes to develop the EverWrist fall monitor. The EverWrist fall monitor employs a novel paradigm to detect falls, and will automatically summon assistance by sending a radio signal to a telephone console unit that delivers a pre-recorded message to a prioritized list of caregivers, ensuring that it is received by a human being. A large recessed button on the EverWrist monitor will also enable wearers to initiate personal emergency alert calls and to cancel an alert call in progress if assistance is not needed. Additionally, the EverWrist monitor will be able to detect and register near-fall events, which are of particular interest to health care personnel to identify individuals in need of further intervention to avoid future falls. Despite the existence of product web sites that suggest otherwise (but which are out of date), there are presently no commercial fall detectors on the market; no currently advertised devices can actually be purchased. Previously available commercial fall detectors were all waist-mounted; as such, they were not true 24/7 monitors, since they could not be worn comfortably during sleep and had to be removed to bathe or change clothes. Additionally, the fall detection algorithms used in nearly all previously-available devices were too simplistic, leading to a high rate of false alarms. Furthermore, the relatively large size of these fall monitors caused them to be conspicuous, broadcasting the wearer's fragility. There is no alternative product or technology available commercially that can detect falls 24/7 and summon assistance in free-living elderly individuals. To overcome the problems of the earlier devices, a new patent-pending sensing technique will be used in the EverWrist monitor that will greatly improve accuracy and reliability in detecting both hard and soft falls. The new approach will be productized in the form of a commonly worn accessory, making it very discreet to wear. Based on this innovative device design, a novel algorithmic methodology, motivated and supported by recent research, will be incorporated into the monitor to detect near-fall events and discriminate these from actual falls and other activities of daily living. The new approaches challenge existing paradigms for fall and near-fall event detection. The resulting EverWrist system will be well positioned in terms of market demand (i.e., need for an ergonomic monitor that can be worn 24/7). The system will be brought to market with multiple pricing options, ranging from outright purchase (for long-term use) to short-term leasing (e.g., for use by an elderly person during the first few months of recuperation after a hospital stay). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Falls and fall-related injuries in seniors are presently more common than strokes and can have equally serious consequences. Thirty percent of adults 70 years and older fall each year; 10% suffer a serious injury, such as a broken bone or head injury. The EverWrist system will be marketed to three groups: (1) elderly individuals, the vast majority of whom wish to continue living independently, but who need to have a "safety net" in place; (2) the adult children of elderly individuals, from whom there is a growing demand for monitoring systems that can increase their peace of mind; and (3) continuing-care retirement communities, where independent-living residents, in particular, are left relatively unsupervised, but often still have issues with mobility and balance. The availability of a noninvasive, 24/7 fall/personal alert monitor without a required monthly fee will make the EverWrist system attractive and affordable to a wide segment of elderly individuals and their families.

描述（由申请人提供）：大多数长者更喜欢在最少的护理人员干预的情况下过独立的生活方式。但是，许多老年人因健康状况而脆弱，并且由于其健康状况而遭受不平衡。他们有跌倒的风险，将受益于某种类型的“安全网”。研究表明，一半的老年堕落者跌倒后在没有援助的情况下出现问题。无论是独自生活在社区还是在老年人的环境中，所有人都有陷入秋季事件后失去知觉的风险。为了解决这个问题，Barron Associates建议开发Everwrist Fall Monitor。 Everwrist Fall Monitor采用新颖的范式来检测跌倒，并通过向电话控制台单元发送无线电信号来自动召唤帮助，该信号将预先录制的消息传递给优先的护理人员列表，以确保人类收到。 Everwrist监视器上的一个大型嵌入式按钮还将使佩戴者能够启动个人紧急警报电话，并在不需要的情况下取消警报电话。此外，Everwrist Monitor将能够检测和注册近乎倒下的事件，这对医疗保健人员特别感兴趣，以确定需要进一步干预的个人，以避免将来跌倒。尽管存在产品网站，这些网站表明其他情况（但已过时），但目前市场上没有商业跌落探测器。目前没有任何广告设备实际上可以购买。以前可用的商业秋季探测器均腰部安装；因此，它们不是24/7的24/7监视器，因为在睡眠期间无法舒适地穿着，必须去洗澡或换衣服。此外，几乎所有以前可用的设备中使用的秋季检测算法都过于简单，导致了很高的错误警报率。此外，这些秋季监测器的相对较大的尺寸使它们显眼，从而广播了穿着者的脆弱性。没有其他商业上可用的产品或技术可以检测到24/7的跌倒，并在自由活动的老年人中召唤援助。为了克服早期设备的问题，Everwrist监视器将使用一种新的申请专利感应技术，该技术将大大提高检测硬和软跌落的准确性和可靠性。新方法将以通常磨损的配件的形式生产，使其非常谨慎。基于这种创新的设备设计，一种新颖的算法方法学是在最近的研究中积极和支持的，它将被纳入监视器中，以检测近乎失败的事件，并将其与实际跌倒和其他日常生活的活动区分开来。新方法挑战了现有的秋季和近距离事件检测的范例。由此产生的Everrist系统将在市场需求方面得到很好的位置（即需要24/7的人体工程学显示器的需求）。该系统将通过多种定价选择来推出市场，从直接购买（用于长期使用）到短期租赁（例如，在住院后的最初几个月中，老年人使用）。公共卫生相关性：当前，老年人的跌倒和与跌倒有关的伤害比中风更为普遍，并且可能会带来同样严重的后果。每年70岁以上的成年人中有30％跌倒； 10％的严重受伤，例如骨折或头部受伤。 Everrist系统将被销售给三组：（1）老年人，其中绝大多数希望继续独立生活，但需要拥有“安全网”； （2）老年人的成年子女，他们对监测系统的需求不断增长，可以使他们的心放心； （3）持续保健退休社区，特别是独立居民的居民相对无监督，但通常仍然存在流动性和平衡问题。无创，24/7秋季/个人警报监视器的可用性无需每月费用，将使Everwrist系统具有吸引力，并且负担得起的老年人及其家人。