Barren Associates, Inc. proposes to develop the Telecare (TLC) home monitor, a system targeted for use by physicians and home service providers that care for elderly individuals. The TLC monitor will track the frequency of occurrence of fall and near-fall episodes, document fall characteristics (e.g., impact location and impact energy), and identify circumstances leading to falls (e.g., noncompliance of individuals with use of walking aids, extended periods of inactivity, etc.) in patients' home settings. It will also characterize the amount of activity obtained on a daily basis (e.g., step counts) and track body orientation patterns (e.g., percentage of day spent upright, sitting, or lying). The monitor will provide summary data, much as a Holter monitor summarizes 24-hour cardiac event data. Intermittent monitoring over time can be used to identify immobility patterns and incipient trends in individuals, such as may result from a fear of falling or declining health status, and lead to strategies to encourage safe increases in mobility and other interventions to prevent the consequences of being sedentary. Data from the TLC monitor will be uploadable via telephone or the Internet and will, therefore, be useful in active patient management to reduce falls, independent of their etiology.
