Falls are the leading cause of accidental death in people over 65. Whatever their severity, they always weaken the elderly and represent an aggravating risk factor for their loss of autonomy.
About 40% of people hospitalized after a fall can no longer live by themselves at home safely and require the input of health services and/or caregivers which can be costly financially and emotionally. Moreover, a person who remains on the ground for more than an hour after a fall has 50% chance of dying within the next 12 months.
Falls usually occur during daily activities, whether at home or outdoors. Although the bathroom (in particular the shower or the bathtub), is the most common room where falls happen at home, many other obstacles can cause falls such as stairs, rugs, or even poor lighting.
The consequences of falls are numerous and can be physical (fractures, wounds, contusions, bruises, etc.), psychological (fear of relapse) which can then lead to a reduction in daily activities, a withdrawal into oneself and therefore a gradual renunciation of one’s social life.
To address this problem of falls, there are systems which detect the fall itself (a rapid and sudden movement, or the shock wave to the ground), devices which detect the prolonged horizontal position of the body after the fall, technologies that identify sudden and prolonged stops of daily activities or movements and finally devices that combine these different techniques with reports and histories.
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