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 Despite the existence of product web sites that suggest otherwise (but which are out of date), there are presently no commercial fall detectors on the market; no currently advertised devices can actually be purchased.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）：大多数老年人更喜欢独立的生活方式，尽量减少护理人员的干预。然而，许多老年人由于健康状况而身体虚弱，身体失衡；他们面临跌倒的风险，并且会受益于某种类型的“安全网”。研究表明，一半的老年跌倒者在跌倒后无法在没有帮助的情况下起身；所有人在跌倒事件后都有失去知觉的风险，无论他们独自生活在社区还是在老年人护理机构中。为了解决这个问题，Barron Associates 建议开发 EverWrist 跌倒监视器。 EverWrist 跌倒监测器采用新颖的范例来检测跌倒，并通过向电话控制台单元发送无线电信号来自动呼叫援助，电话控制台单元将预先录制的消息发送给优先的护理人员列表，确保该消息被人类接收到。 EverWrist 监视器上的一个大凹进按钮还使佩戴者能够发起个人紧急警报呼叫，并在不需要帮助时取消正在进行的警报呼叫。此外，EverWrist 监测器将能够检测和记录接近跌倒事件，这对于医护人员特别感兴趣，可以识别需要进一步干预的个人，以避免未来跌倒。尽管存在其他建议的产品网站（但已经过时），但目前市场上还没有商业跌倒探测器；当前广告中的设备实际上无法购买。以前市售的跌倒探测器都是腰部安装的；因此，它们不是真正的 24/7 监视器，因为它们在睡眠时佩戴不舒适，必须在洗澡或换衣服时摘下。此外，几乎所有以前可用的设备中使用的跌倒检测算法都过于简单，导致误报率很高。此外，这些防坠落监视器的尺寸相对较大，导致它们非常显眼，暴露了佩戴者的脆弱。目前还没有商业上的替代产品或技术可以 24/7 检测跌倒情况并为自由生活的老年人寻求帮助。为了克服早期设备的问题，EverWrist 监视器将采用一种正在申请专利的新传感技术，该技术将大大提高检测硬摔和软摔的准确性和可靠性。新方法将以常用配饰的形式产品化，使其佩戴起来非常谨慎。基于这种创新的设备设计，在最近的研究的推动和支持下，一种新颖的算法方法将被纳入监测器中，以检测接近跌倒事件并将其与实际跌倒和其他日常生活活动区分开来。新方法挑战了跌倒和接近跌倒事件检测的现有范例。由此产生的 EverWrist 系统将很好地满足市场需求（即需要可以 24/7 佩戴的人体工学显示器）。该系统将以多种定价选项推向市场，从直接购买（用于长期使用）到短期租赁（例如，供老年人在住院后康复的头几个月使用）。公共卫生相关性：老年人跌倒和跌倒相关伤害目前比中风更常见，并且可能产生同样严重的后果。每年有 30% 的 70 岁及以上成年人跌倒； 10% 的人遭受严重伤害，例如骨折或头部受伤。 EverWrist系统将面向三个群体进行营销：（1）老年人，他们中的绝大多数希望继续独立生活，但需要有一个“安全网”到位； (2) 老年人的成年子女，他们对能够让他们安心的监控系统的需求不断增长； (3) 持续护理退休社区，特别是独立生活的居民相对不受监管，但往往仍然存在行动和平衡问题。无需按月付费即可提供无创、24/7 跌倒/个人警报监测器，这将使 EverWrist 系统对广大老年人及其家庭具有吸引力且负担得起。