EverWrist: A Novel Electronic Fall Monitor for Seniors

描述（由申请人提供）：大多数长者喜欢过独立的生活方式，照顾者的干预最少。然而，许多老年人身体虚弱，由于他们的健康状况而遭受不平衡;他们有福尔斯的风险，并将受益于某种类型的“安全网”到位。研究表明，有一半的老年跌倒者在跌倒后没有帮助就无法起床;所有人都有在跌倒事件后失去知觉的风险，无论他们是独自生活在社区还是在老年人护理环境中。为了解决这个问题，巴伦协会建议开发EverWrist跌倒监测仪。EverWrist跌倒监测仪采用了一种新颖的模式来检测福尔斯，并将通过向电话控制台单元发送无线电信号来自动召唤援助，该电话控制台单元将预先录制的消息传递给护理人员的优先列表，确保它被人类接收。EverWrist显示器上的一个大的凹进按钮也将使佩戴者能够启动个人紧急警报呼叫，并在不需要帮助的情况下取消正在进行的警报呼叫。此外，EverWrist监护仪将能够检测和记录接近跌倒的事件，这对医护人员特别感兴趣，以识别需要进一步干预的个人，以避免未来的福尔斯。尽管存在建议不同的产品网站（但是已经过时），但是目前市场上没有商业跌倒检测器;实际上不能购买当前广告的设备。以前可用的商业跌倒探测器都是腰上安装的;因此，它们不是真正的24/7监视器，因为它们在睡眠期间不能舒适地佩戴，并且必须在洗澡或换衣服时取出。此外，在几乎所有先前可用的设备中使用的跌倒检测算法过于简单，导致高误报率。此外，这些跌倒监测器的尺寸相对较大，导致它们很显眼，传播佩戴者的脆弱。目前还没有商业上可用的替代产品或技术可以全天候检测福尔斯跌倒并在自由生活的老年人中寻求帮助。为了克服早期设备的问题，一种新的正在申请专利的传感技术将用于EverWrist监测器，这将大大提高检测硬和软福尔斯的准确性和可靠性。新方法将以常戴配件的形式产品化，使其佩戴非常谨慎。基于这种创新的设备设计，一种新的算法方法，由最近的研究激励和支持，将被纳入监测器，以检测接近跌倒事件，并区分这些从实际的福尔斯和其他日常生活活动。新方法挑战了现有的跌倒和接近跌倒事件检测的范例。由此产生的EverWrist系统将在市场需求方面处于有利地位（即，需要一个符合人体工程学的监视器，可以佩戴24/7）。该系统将以多种定价选项推向市场，从直接购买（长期使用）到短期租赁（例如，供老年人在住院后康复的最初几个月期间使用）。公共卫生相关性：老年人的福尔斯跌倒和跌倒相关损伤目前比中风更常见，并可能产生同样严重的后果。每年有30%的70岁及以上的成年人摔倒; 10%的人受到严重伤害，如骨折或头部受伤。EverWrist系统将面向三个群体销售：（1）老年人，他们中的绝大多数人希望继续独立生活，但需要有一个“安全网”;（2）老年人的成年子女，他们对监测系统的需求日益增长，可以增加他们的心灵安宁;以及（3）持续护理退休社区，特别是独立生活的居民，相对而言无人监督，但通常仍然存在流动性和平衡问题。无创、24/7跌倒/个人警报监测器的可用性无需月费，这将使EverWrist系统对广大老年人及其家庭具有吸引力和负担得起的价格。

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.