SBIR Phase I: Validation and optimization of balance and gait assessment technology in order to identify fall-risk in older adults

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是能够快速轻松地识别人口老龄化中的跌倒风险。跌倒是老年人致命性和非致命性伤害的主要原因，导致丧失独立性和经济负担(预计在2020年和2030年分别超过54亿美元和1010亿美元)。迫切需要一种能够以具有成本效益的方式在大群体中使用的诊断和预后工具。在跌倒发生之前确定跌倒风险对于及时部署预防措施至关重要，但也是为了将有限的资源分配给最有可能经历跌倒的人。反过来，这最终将减少跌倒的次数，延长老年人的独立生活时间，并降低医疗成本。该项目完成后，该设备将成为商业上可行的产品，将导致一家初创公司的成长和扩张。拟议的项目将优化和展示一种创新的平衡和步态评估设备的技术可行性，该设备提供跌倒风险的衡量标准。初级保健医生报告说，他们没有完成跌倒风险评估的知识和时间。因此，该项目将优化和验证可在多个环境中轻松实施的跌倒风险评估设备，包括退休社区、健康诊所和医生办公室。该项目的第一个目标是优化和验证设备的平衡评估能力，因为步态评估能力已经得到验证。该设备将同时与研究实验室中常用的设备进行比较。第二个目标是用平衡受损的人群来验证该设备；与第一个目标一样，该设备将同时与研究实验室中常用的设备进行比较。第三个目标是通过证明平衡和/或步态参数在三个群体(年轻人、老年人和帕金森氏症患者)中的不同，确定该设备提供了一个年龄和疾病的生物标记物。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the ability to quickly and easily identify fall-risk in an aging population. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in older adults, resulting in loss of independence and financial burden (predicted to exceed $54 and $101 billion in 2020 and 2030). There is a critical need for a diagnostic and prognostic tool that can be utilized in large cohorts in a cost-effective manner. Identifying fall risk before a fall occurs is critical for timely deployment of preventive measures, but also so that limited resources can be allocated to those who are most likely to experience a fall. This, in turn, will ultimately reduce the number of falls, prolong independent living for the elderly population, and reduce healthcare costs. Following completion of the project, the device will be a commercially viable product which will lead to the growth and expansion of a start-up company. The proposed project will optimize and demonstrate the technical feasibility of an innovative balance and gait assessment device that provides a measure of fall-risk. Primary care physicians report that they do not have the knowledge and time to complete fall-risk assessments. Thus, this project will optimize and validate a fall-risk assessment device that can be easily implemented in multiple settings, including retirement communities, health clinics, and physician offices. The first objective of this project is to optimize and validate the balance assessment capabilities of the device, as the gait assessment capabilities have already been validated. The device will be compared concurrently with a device commonly used in research labs. The second objective is to validate the device with balance-compromised populations; as in the first objective, the device will be compared concurrently with a device commonly used in research labs. The third objective is to establish that the device provides a biomarker for age and disease by demonstrating that the balance and/or gait parameters are different across three groups (young adults, older adults, and people with Parkinson's disease).