Challenge:
• Each year, 3 million older adults are treated in emergency rooms for injuries sustained by falls.
• Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized due to an injury sustained by a fall. These falls most often lead to a serious head injury or dangerous hip fracture.
• One-in-five falls causes serious injuries such as broken bones or concussions
• Each year, at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures.
• In 2015, the total medical costs for falls totaled more than $50 billion. Medicare and Medicaid shouldered 75% of these costs.
Solution:
New technologies should simplify the lives of older people and reduce the amount of care required for families and the state. A pioneer in this area is cogvis, a spin-off company from the Vienna University of Technology, which has brought its "smart" 3D sensor technology to market maturity in recent years.
Guided by Orbbec Astra Series, their product cogvisAI, has been available for nursing homes and hospitals since 2018. Via ‘Automated Fall Prevention & Detection’ movements are analyzed in order to sound an alarm in the event of a critical situation or fall.
Using Structured light technology, Orbbec Astra Series can perceive objects and people that are in the path of the projected infrared pattern. This information allows cogvisAI to detect unusual movement inside a room to alert staff of a potential problem with a patient. "The system can effectively prevent falls through timely alarms of nursing staff when people with a high risk of falling are raising up, sitting up, or standing up. In addition, the lights can be switched on automatically to reduce the risk of falling," explains Planinc.
