The proposed work will show the feasibility of a computer based Improved Fall Detector to detect, without their cooperation, elderly people who fall in their home, and to send an alarm via telephone when they do. It will send an alarm when they lie in bed or sit an unreasonably long time, to detect trauma during sleep. It will also report performance of ADLs to a caregiver. Its sensors are passive infrared motion detectors and pressure sensitive mats on chairs and beds. When a problem is detected, a voice message will ask the resident if she is all right. If she is, she may press a cancel button and the IFD will do nothing else. If she does not press the button, the IFD will place a telephone call to the congregate housing facility for the elderly, where field tests will take place in five apartments. A message will state the resident's name, apartment number, and phone number and that she has fallen. With the help of the IFD, frail elderly people will be able to live alone, instead of in an institution. This will both increase their independence and peace of mind and effect important monetary savings.
We expect to incorporate the Improved Fall Detector into our Home Monitor, currently the subject of a Phase II SBIR grant from NIH. The combined device will be marketed to owners or elderly residents of high rise buildings, under a joint venture agreement with a company to be determined.
