! There is a looming social and economic liability with a growing elderly population. Annually, a staggering 2.8 million elderly are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries. Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury and the primary cause of accidental death in adults over 65 years. Impaired balance, particularly in the lateral direction, is one of the most important risk factors for falls. Unfortunately, common clinical tests of balance are not sensitive to impairments. This lack of sensitivity makes it difficult to monitor changes in balance control that may increase a person's fall risk (e.g. following a change in medication). Therefore, there is a critical need for more sensitive tests to assess balance. We have shown that delays in neuromuscular control result in instability. This work along with the fact that elderly have slower postural adjustments prompted our research group to develop a test to assess speed of balance control. We have shown that speed of balance control can be reliably assessed, is sensitive to subtle impairments in balance not found with common clinical tests, and has ecological validity as demonstrated by predicting performance in common daily activities known to be predictive of falls. The product of this SBIR is a low-cost, easy-to-use system to assess speed of balance control and predict fall risk. In this supplemental award, three members of the research team will attend the National I-CorpsTM program and perform 100 or more customer discovery interviews. By conducting these interviews, we will increase the breadth and depth of knowledge of the various healthcare ecosystems involved in reducing falls in the elderly and identify pain points and barriers for clinical adoption of our balance assessment technology. This information will be important for learning who and what will drive or resist technology adoption. !
In this supplemental award, three members of the Phase I SBIR research team will attend the National I- CorpsTM program and perform 100 or more customer discovery interviews. These interviews will be important for learning who and what will drive or resist technology adoption. !
