It may be another vaguely worded survey meant to produce the desired results, but at least this one is from academia rather than a vendor.
In a new survey about elderly people falling, Carnegie-Mellon University’s College of Engineering reported that 81 percent of respondents are interested in sensor technology to prevent falls, particularly among their aging parents.
“Many older adults in senior care facilities are restricted to wheelchairs when there are concerns about stability, but this technology could allow them to regain some of their independence,” said Haeyoung Noh, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. Noh and CMU research partner Pei Zhang, naturally, are testing active sensors for fall prevention.
According to the survey, 54 percent of the 1,900 participating U.S. adults said that they worry about an elderly parent falling. Among this group, 70 percent have this fear at least once a week, if not daily, and it barely matters whether the parent lives alone or not.
“Our sensors are designed to predict and anticipate falls so individuals can worry less about their parents with the knowledge that our technology will discover their parents are not walking the way they normally do, whether because of medication or because they’ve become fatigued,” Zhang said in a press release.
In a video from Carnegie-Mellon, Noh said that their sensors measure such functions as gait stability, dizziness and fatigue to help determine fall risk. “Our system can help them realize their limitations so they can walk around more safely,” she explained.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
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https://youtu.be/Sjf9nvWcyBI?list=PLWtE2R5AbKYwOF7n4FpjpNSiP0y2lbXEx
“This allows people to be more independent by maintaining their mobility longer,” Noh added.
“It actually has quite a bit of commercial implications,” said Zhang. Well, yeah. But it’s also important to educate people about the availability of technology to prevent falls.
Photo: YouTube screen grab
