via IMedicalApps
Falls are an enormous threat to
health and well-being in elderly people, and the possibility of a
debilitating fall is an obstacle to autonomy and independence. Since
many medical conditions that cause falls and many of the injuries
related to falls are life-threatening, every second in the period
between fall and the emergency room is vital. Protecting at-risk
individuals requires constant monitoring – something a medical app for
the iPhone or Android phones, which individuals could carry at all
times, would be perfect for. A group of developers at Florida
State University is designing software on Android phones to help detect
falls and shorten the time it takes to alert emergency services.
Unlike other fall-detection technology, this app
adds fall detection ability to one of the most commonly-owned devices –
your phone. And this Android medical app (with an iPhone medical app
sibling in the not-too-distant future) could make a big difference. In
a world of apps that make our lives more fun and more efficient, this
app sticks out as one that could actually save lives and improve peace
of mind for independent seniors. iFall (not
to be confused with the iPhone game) is an application that runs on an
Android device worn by the user. The tri-axial accelerometer in
Android phones allows iFall software to monitor the phone’s location,
position, and movement. The software integrates information about user
height, weight, and carrying position with continuously gathered data on
phone movements into an algorithm that determines whether a fall has
occurred. When a possible fall is detected the application
communicates first with the user by vibration, flashing LED/screen, and
audio alerts. If the user does not respond (as would be expected in the
case of a serious fall), communication is attempted with pre-designated
contacts. Contacts are sent text message alerts that include the time
of the event and GPS coordinates. Contacts can then communicate
directly to the phone speaker of the person who fell. When
communication by either of these methods fails, or a fall is confirmed,
an emergency service is contacted promptly. The makers of iFall
have gone to painstaking length to eliminate false alarms
(false-positives) that may occur when the phone is worn during physical
activity, when driving, or even when doing general activities of daily
living. By adjusting the algorithm and thresholds, the developers are
able to maximize detection of real falls while minimizing detection of
non-fall events. For a detailed description of how this app works, see
their paper. The technology was presented
last year at the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
iFall is in the testing stage of development and is not yet available.
We contacted the development team who informed us that they plan to
enter clinical testing to validate the app this summer, working with
both young, healthy individuals as well as elderly, at-risk individuals.
While similar apps for the iPhone are also available, such as Fall
Alert from Oberon Space, its clear that iFall will be undergoing the
most rigorous validation prior to release. This testing will give it
real credibility as a useful tool for patients and clinicians, a
credibility that is often lacking in many iPhone apps that claim to benefit patients (Disclaimer:
Fall Alert’s website was entirely in Spanish so its possible some
testing occurred, though none is mentioned on its iTunes page). iFall
should be available late this summer and we’re definitely excited about
the potential impact.