Sposaro Frank, Tyson Gary
Florida State University, USA.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:6119-22. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5334912.
Injuries due to falls are among the leading causes of hospitalization in elderly persons, often resulting in a rapid decline in quality of life or death. Rapid response can improve the patients outcome, but this is often lacking when the injured person lives alone and the nature of the injury complicates calling for help. This paper presents an alert system for fall detection using common commercially available electronic devices to both detect the fall and alert authorities. We use an Android-based smart phone with an integrated tri-axial accelerometer. Data from the accelerometer is evaluated with several threshold based algorithms and position data to determine a fall. The threshold is adaptive based on user provided parameters such as: height, weight, and level of activity. The algorithm adapts to unique movements that a phone experiences as opposed to similar systems which require users to mount accelerometers to their chest or trunk. If a fall is suspected a notification is raised requiring the user's response. If the user does not respond, the system alerts pre-specified social contacts with an informational message via SMS. If a contact responds the system commits an audible notification, automatically connects, and enables the speakerphone. If a social contact confirms a fall, an appropriate emergency service is alerted. Our system provides a realizable, cost effective solution to fall detection using a simple graphical interface while not overwhelming the user with uncomfortable sensors.
跌倒造成的伤害是老年人住院的主要原因之一，常常导致生活质量迅速下降或死亡。快速响应可以改善患者的预后，但当受伤者独居且受伤情况使呼救变得复杂时，这种响应往往缺失。本文提出了一种用于跌倒检测的警报系统，该系统使用常见的商用电子设备来检测跌倒并向相关部门发出警报。我们使用一部集成了三轴加速度计的安卓智能手机。来自加速度计的数据通过几种基于阈值的算法以及位置数据进行评估，以确定是否发生跌倒。该阈值基于用户提供的参数（如身高、体重和活动水平）进行自适应调整。该算法能够适应手机所经历的独特运动，这与那些要求用户将加速度计佩戴在胸部或躯干上的类似系统不同。如果怀疑发生了跌倒，系统会发出通知要求用户做出响应。如果用户没有响应，系统会通过短信向预先指定的社交联系人发送信息通知。如果某个联系人做出响应，系统会发出可听见的通知，自动连接并启用免提功能。如果社交联系人确认发生了跌倒，会向适当的紧急服务机构发出警报。我们的系统使用简单的图形界面，为跌倒检测提供了一种切实可行且经济高效的解决方案，同时不会因使用令人不适的传感器而给用户带来过多负担。
