Augmented Reality Personalized Motion Tracking Assessment and Improvement Technology for Fall Prevention for the Spanish Speaking Hispanic/Latino Population in a Community Setting Using Mobile Phone

More than 1 in 4 people 65 and older fall each year, leading to more than $50 billion in annual spending for treatment. This cost is on an upward trajectory. We have less understanding of the impact of falls and risk in the Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino population. Although a variety of community-based public health programs are addressing fall prevention, these programs are in English and are not effectively translated and delivered to culturally diverse communities. The Hispanic American population age 65 and over was 4 million in 2016 and is projected to grow to 19.9 million by 2060 or 21% of that total age group. Elderly Hispanics in this specific population frequently fall and are worried about falling. Exercise programs can reduce fall risk for older adults by improving muscle strength, balance, and gait instabilities. Fall prevention programs are encouraged by the CDC, NIA, and many other organizations, and are often provided by community-based organizations and other institutions. Barriers to offering Spanish speaking exercise programs include difficulty in finding qualified instructors who speak Spanish and many age 60 and over are typically unaware of proper exercise regimens. KINIMA Seniors in Spanish aims to reduce fall risk in the Hispanic population through the use of its novel mobile assistive technology for fall prevention. KINIMA Inc., is a women-owned company incorporated in 2016 and incubated in both University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Venture Initiative Program and Stanford University’s StartX and commercially offered. KINIMA Seniors in Spanish is a ground-breaking, novel technology that uses computer vision with no on-body sensors, an innovative side-by-side view through augmented reality guidance with proprietary content, body joint tracking and artificial intelligence, plus multiple forms of feedback to provide a digital 2-way comprehensive fall prevention exercise platform. The proposed Phase I study seeks to determine the KINIMA Seniors in Spanish mobile phone motion tracking platform’s feasibility, acceptability, and accuracy to support fall prevention in Hispanic/Latino settings. To that end, project AIMS are: 1) Evaluate KINIMA Seniors in Spanish acceptability, engagement and capability for subjects to complete sessions with little or no intervention by human staff; 2) determine specific forms of content and features that best promote the desired physical movement among the targeted populations; and 3) determine the effectiveness of the KINIMA Seniors in Spanish technology for automated tracking of participant movement. The KINIMA automated assessments will be compared against tracking by a human, which is the approach taken by most clinicians today to assess fall risk. These AIMS support the mission and research priorities of reducing falls and fall risk among Spanish-speaking seniors. This Phase I study is a major milestone and allows the project study group to assess user acceptability of the features and effectiveness of the automated measures. Phase II will determine the efficacy of the platform in improving fall risk outcomes through measuring progress over time.