Developing an alarm system for wheelchair falls

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In this project we are aiming to develop a sensor based alarming system to address the immediate need of our industrial partner Retirement Concepts Senior Services Ltd (RC). The alarming system will help the caregivers at RC to find the location of the injured people in wheelchair falls. Wheelchairs are one of the most important devices in rehabilitation that have immensely improved the quality of life for people with disabilities and impairments. Wheelchairs are subject to tips and falls, that can cause injuries (e.g., to head, neck, spine, and hip). For a person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, such injuries will have significant short and long-term effect on quality of life, independence, and in some cases can even lead to death. Moreover, these injuries are costly and since wheelchair costs are mostly covered by public insurances, they will impose financial burden to the society and medical systems (long time hospitalization). Several studies and reports conducted by health organization indicate wheelchair falls and its related injuries as significant and growing problem. Increased use of wheelchairs globally, and the growth in the use of motorized chairs or scooters, combined with the high rate of wheelchair falls and the cost incurred by the resulting injuries indicates that there is a clear need for improving wheelchair safety. In this project we are planning to program and fine tune a fall detection system for wheelchair falls application. We are planning to install the fall detection systems on 30 wheelchairs and monitor the performance of the sensory system and its algorithm to identify potential problems. We are also planning to develop the alarming system in parallel and incorporate it in the algorithm of the fall detection units. The outcome of this research will be a safety device for our industrial partner. This project will have financial benefits for our technology user corporation, and bring short and long-term social and economical benefits to Canada in the area of public health. In addition to the these benefits, the research empowered by this proposal will lead to training of highly qualified personnel in high demanding health and applied science areas.