PASSIVE AIRBAG PROTECTIVE GARMENTS FOR INTERVENTION IN FALLSA VIDEO-BASED FALL DOCUMENTATION SYSTEM FOR THE ELDERLY

THIS PHASE I PROGRAM WILL DETERMINE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A SIMPLE, LOW-COST, PROTECTIVE SERIES OF GARMENTS THAT COULD GIVE A NEW MEASURE OF EFFECTIVE PROTECTION TO THE ELDERLY BY PROVIDING STRATEGIC POINTS OF POTENTIALLY INJURIOUS IMPACT, SUCH AS THE HIP, KNEE, AND HEAD, WITH A SUFFICIENT LAYER OF LIGHTWEIGHT AND CONTOURABLE CUSHIONING MATERIAL. BASED UPON PRELIMINARY TESTING AND SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN AIRBAG TECHNOLOGIES, IT IS BELIEVED THAT SUCH A GARMENT SYSTEM WITH MINIMUM THICKNESS AND BULK COULD BE SATISFACTORILY DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED USING IMPROVED AIR-CELL MATERIALS SIMILAR TO BUBBLE-PACK CUSHIONING MATERIAL CURRENTLY USED FOR SHIPPING PROTECTION. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE PROBLEM DEFINITION AND PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS FABRICATION AND DEMONSTRATION USING AN INSTRUMENTED ANTHROPOMORPHIC DUMMY, AS WELL AS PRELIMINARY GARMENT DESIGN AND EVALUATION. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS SYSTEM COULD POTENTIALLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF BROKEN HIPS AND OTHERINJURIES RESULTING FROM FALLS, PARTICULARLY AMONG THE ELDERLY, AND ALSO HAVE APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC FALL-SENSITIVE OCCUPATIONAL AND SPORTS AREAS. FOR AGING POPULATIONS, THE SYSTEM COULD POTENTIALLY REDUCE MEDICAL COSTS DUE TO INJURIOUS FALLS, ENCOURAGE PATIENT ACTIVITY ANDEXERCISE, AND IMPROVE THEIR SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENCE. FALLS AMONG THE ELDERLY POSE A GROWING PROBLEM IN GERIATRICSCARE AND RESEARCH IN THAT ACTUAL FALLS ARE HARD TO PREDICT, DETECT, INSTRUMENT, AND DOCUMENT AMONGST SUCH A LARGE AND DIVERSE POPULATION. A NEW AND INNOVATIVE VIDEO-BASED SYSTEMIS HEREIN PROPOSED FOR DEVELOPMENT THAT WOULD FACILITATE A STANDARDIZED METHODOLOGY FOR THE ECONOMICAL MONITORING AND RECORDING OF SELECTED POPULATIONS IN AREAS OF INCREASED FALLRISK ALONG WITH THE SUBSEQUENT DOCUMENTATION OF THE FALLS FOR LATER STUDY. THE SYSTEM WILL UTILIZE THE LATEST IN STATE-OF-THE-ART YET COST-EFFECTIVE VIDEO EQUIPMENT AND WILLBE TESTED IN A CONTROLLED LABORATORY SETTING WITH AN INSTRUMENTED MANNEQUIN. THE 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 AND DEFINING FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS FOR A PHASE II PROGRAM.