INBED: INEXPENSIVE NODE FOR BED-EXIT DETECTION: A WEARABLE FALL PREVENTION SYSTEM

Abstract

Age-related falls are a widespreaded and expensive issue of society and with this a big challenge of gerontological research. Hence we present INBED - an inexpensive, modular and body-worn (medio-femoral) fall prevention system. Compared to existing solutions, INBED offers a more proper solution to prevent falls in clinical and elderly care environments.The INBED detects several events such as getting up from a sitting or lying position. These events are broadcasted wirelessly to notify the nursing stuff, so that they can assist the respective care recipient accordingly. In further consequence, highly critical fall events can be avoided due to the early alert of the nursing staff. The INBED can replace the commonly used belt or bed rail systems for high risk fall patients. Thus, the personal range of movement and the self-determination of the patient will be supported without reducing the sense of protection. INBED itself is a approx. 2x2cm wearable device that contains several sensors, a microcontroller unit and a wireless radio transceiver.Development objectives were:- development of a reliable and cost-effective solution for a sensor-based uprise-detection for fall prevention established by first research results with different sensor prototypes.- apart from the function of immediate uprise-detection, the system can also recognize states of restlessness occurring in advance of patient’s rising, so that the caregiver can intervene before the first uprise.- in addition to above-mentioned functions, the system can be used to implement a virtual fence. Patients can be protected from risk areas, e.g. stairs, by sending a dedicated event.