PA22176, SBIR Phase I, Novel Automated Screening Approach for Identifying Fall Risk

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Project Summary/Abstract The proposed project relates to the development of a novel passive automated screening approach for identifying fall risk in the elderly. Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries among adults age 65 and older and the risk of fall-related death among older adults is increasing. Annually, 28.7% of older adults fall in the United States, resulting in 300,000 hip fractures and over $70 billion dollars in medical costs in 2020. Improved tools are needed to identify changes that increase fall risk. These tools are preferably, unobtrusive, automated, entirely passive and deployable in the home environment. Recent research has described a novel technique for eye tracking that is useful for identifying neuropathologies. This approach is feasible for inexpensive deployment in the home using entertainment platforms as the foundational instrument for passively conducting the examination. The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate a prototype system using this approach. A prototype system will be specified, designed, tested, and evaluated in a human trial.