A VIDEO-BASED FALL DOCUMENTATION SYSTEM FOR THE ELDERLY

FALLS AMONG THE ELDERLY POSE A GROWING PROBLEM IN GERIATRICSCARE AND RESEARCH IN THAT ACTUAL FALLS ARE HARD TO PREDICT,DETECT, INSTRUMENT, AND DOCUMENT IN SUCH A LARGE AND DIVERSEPOPULATION. A NEW AN INNOVATIVE VIDEO-BASED SYSTEM IS PROPOSED THAT WOULD FACILITATE A STANDARDIZED METHODOLOGY FOR THE ECONOMICAL MONITORING AND RECORDING OF SELECTED POPULATIONS AT INCREASED RISK FOR FALLS, ALONG WITH SUBSEQUENT DOCUMENTATION OF THE FALLS FOR LATER STUDY. THE SYSTEM WILL UTILIZE THE LATEST IN STATE-OF-THE-ART YETCOST-EFFECTIVE VIDEO EQUIPMENT AND WILL BE TESTED IN A CONTROLLED LABORATORY SETTING WITH AN INSTRUMENTED MANNEQUINTHE SYSTEM WILL THEN BE INSTALLED IN A CLINICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR EVALUATION. USE WILL ALSO BE MADE OF ADVANCED VIDEO-BASED MOTION ANALYSIS SYSTEMS FOR QUALIFYING THE PHASE I LABORATORY DATA & DEFINING FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS FOR A PHASE II PROGRAM.