A system to detect fall occurrence and location in hospital settings

跌倒检测、评估和预防是整个护理过程中的一个具有挑战性的问题。尽管范围很广 认识到这是一个相当大的问题，与跌倒相关的伤害仍然是最常报告的不良事件 在医院的住院环境中，3%-20%的患者在住院期间至少摔倒一次。根据 医疗研究和质量机构的报告称，30%到51%的跌倒会导致受伤。在美国 仅住院跌倒的人数每年就超过100万，老年人是最脆弱的群体。 作为其重要性的证明，秋季研究在医学研究所的报告中被列为首要任务 向国会提交国家优先事项。 导致跌倒的因素多种多样，包括患者因素(如认知状态、肌肉无力、中枢神经等)。 环境因素(例如，床位/厕所位置、旅行危险)和体制因素(例如，贫穷 对铃声或床/椅警报的响应性、跌倒预防措施不足)。尽管医院- 采取不同的计划来预防跌倒和跌伤，预防跌倒计划的一个基本组成部分是 准确确定坠落事件，因为许多坠落都是\r看不见的“，也没有报道。 在这里提出的身体佩戴的FallCall系统将利用强大的传感能力来提供健壮的 跌倒检测和报告跌倒位置，没有烦人的错误警报。FallCall身体穿戴乐器 将包含可重复使用的微型电子封装，封装在一次性、低过敏性粘合剂中 帕奇。贴片可以放置在躯干的任何位置，以最大限度地减少与其他医疗设备或 受伤地点。该系统将持续监测患者，并在检测到跌倒时及时发出警报，最大限度地减少 病人在地面的时间，以及受伤评估和治疗的潜伏期。FallCall系统还将 允许使用冗余无线确定患者的位置(包括医院的房间和OOR) 网状网络。该仪器将由一个微型可充电电池供电，至少续航时间为 一周。 FallCall系统还将具有发出漫游和静止警报的能力。此外， 系统可以使用其内部传感器来跟踪稳定性测量，从而提供可能会 改进了在识别跌倒风险个人和纵向跟踪跌倒风险方面的预测价值。这个 建议的系统将是最早客观衡量临床阶段反应时间的方法之一 当跌倒发生时，它将是评估和改进跌倒预防计划的关键组成部分。

Fall detection, assessment, and prevention is a challenging issue across the care continuum. Despite wide recognition as a considerable problem, fall-related injuries are still the most frequently reported adverse events in hospital inpatient settings, with 3-20% of patients falling at least once during their stay. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports, 30% to 51% of falls result in injury. In the United States alone, the number of inpatient falls exceeds 1 million per year, with elderly individuals being the most vulnerable. As a testament to its importance, fall research was listed as a top priority in the Institute of Medicine's report to Congress on national priorities. Diverse factors contribute to falls, including patient factors (e.g., cognitive state, muscle weakness, medi- cations), environmental factors (e.g., bed/toilet positioning, trip hazards), and institutional factors (e.g., poor responsiveness to call bells or bed/chair alarms, inadequate fall prevention measures). Although hospitals em- ploy diverse programs to prevent falls and fall injuries, an essential component to a fall prevention program is accurate determination of fall events, as many falls are \unseen" and unreported. The body-worn FallCall system, proposed herein, will leverage powerful sensing capabilities to provide robust fall detection and to report fall locations without bothersome false alarms. The FallCall body-worn instrument will embody a reusable miniature electronics package that is encapsulated in a disposable, hypoallergenic adhesive patch. The patch can be placed anywhere on the torso to minimize interaction with other medical equipment or injury sites. The system will continuously monitor patients and issue a timely alert if a fall is detected, minimizing patient time on the ground, as well as injury assessment and treatment latencies. The FallCall system will also allow patient location to be determined (including the room and oor of the hospital) using a redundant wireless mesh network. The instrument will be powered by a miniature rechargeable battery that will last for at least one week. The FallCall system will also have the capability to issue wander and inactivity alerts. Additionally, the system can use its internal sensors to track measures of stability, providing objective data that may o er improved predictive value in identifying individuals at risk for falling and tracking fall risk longitudinally. The proposed system will represent one of the rst ways to objectively measure the response time of clinical sta when a fall occurs, and will be a key component in evaluating and improving fall prevention programs.