SBIR Phase II: Automated Monitoring and Alarming for Elder Care

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an automated monitoring system for residents living in elder care facilities. This system will enable the facility staff to quickly respond to any event or behavior requiring intervention, such as an accidental fall, using computer vision for tracking and behavior analysis. Prior Phase I research demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for fall detection and behavior analysis with the help of a laboratory prototype. This work also highlighted several challenges, such as dealing with changing lighting conditions and complex behaviors. Phase II research will focus on addressing these challenges and creating twelve beta sites in actual elder care facilities to further develop and test the algorithms. The commercial application of this project will be on institutions linked to the care of the elderly. With over 50% of the growing population of seniors staying in independent / assistive living facilities or nursing homes, injuries and deaths resulting from unattended falls represent a serious societal and economical problem. Over 1.8 million seniors fall each year, with each fall costing an average of $9,400 in hospitalization. The proposed work could lead to a solution that provides a way for quickly responding to falls, saving hospitalization costs up to 26% and more importantly, reducing the likelihood of death by as much as 82%. It would also help in generating a feeling of security for the elders and their care givers, without a substantial increase in healthcare costs.