{"id":5567,"date":"2023-12-11T16:18:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T15:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatrics.com\/trustreport\/?p=5567"},"modified":"2024-01-26T20:08:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T19:08:57","slug":"designing-a-technology-that-detects-falls-in-nursing-homes-and-the-homes-of-the-elderly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatrics.com\/trustreport\/designing-a-technology-that-detects-falls-in-nursing-homes-and-the-homes-of-the-elderly\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing a technology that detects falls in nursing homes and the homes of the elderly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Collaborator:<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Viktor Nyitray<\/h3>\n

Interim CEO, Attentify<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Over 25% of individuals aged 65+ fall each year, but fewer than half report it to their doctor, increasing the risk of recurring falls. These falls often result in injuries, hospitalisations, and emotional distress. Attentify, part of Biometric Ventures<\/a>, tackles this issue by aiding caregivers in fall detection at home or in professional settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Support from Innovatrics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea for Attentify \u2013 part of Biometric Ventures<\/a> \u2013 was born at Innovatrics, which supports the company financially and technically, mainly with AI video processing, hardware selection and transferring the technology from servers to microchips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Attentify, a startup company owned by Innovatrics, wants to develop algorithms that assist non-professional caregivers, including family and friends, in providing home care for the elderly. This involves monitoring their health conditions and alerting caregivers to any potential issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to provide help to the elderly in their own homes, we first set out to design a product for nursing homes that will help professional caregivers detect falls and prevent situations where the elderly are left without help and assistance,\u201d<\/em> says Nyitray. The goal was to create an inclusive design and adaptability product that caters to both professional caregivers and, eventually, friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AI-powered fall detection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe entire design process began with a scientific approach,\u201d <\/em>explains the interim CEO, \u201cour initial hypotheses were that falls occur often and the elderly fall more during the day, as they spend more time standing or moving around.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attentify set out to develop an algorithm using state-of-the-art AI for precise body and movement detection. This algorithm essentially performs three key functions: it maps the body’s points, assesses the body’s position, and determines whether the change in position constitutes a fall or only a sudden movement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPreventing falls means a healthier and more active life well into old age.\u201d<\/p>\u2013 Viktor Nyitray, Interim CEO, Attentify<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The different shades of falls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Early on, the first big obstacle emerged. Nursing-home rooms are small, and typically furnished with a bed, table, armchair and other furniture. Most of the time, people fall behind a piece of furniture. When the AI doesn\u2019t see all the body points needed for recognition, it can sometimes mistake a fallen person for a poster or a photograph or evaluate that the person has left the room. To address this, the company had to create an entirely new algorithm and teach AI what falls in nursing homes really look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to create a whole new database of videos of falls for AI to learn from. Falls from different angles, in different light conditions, falls behind tables, chairs, beds, etc. Initially, we used stuntmen and databases from the internet, but both fell short of capturing what happens in real life,\u201d<\/em> says Nyitray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuntmen know very well how to fall and not hurt themselves. Unfortunately, the elderly don\u2019t. On the other hand, videos from the internet were primarily shot in laboratory conditions \u2013 an empty room with a mattress in the middle \u2013 that definitely didn\u2019t resemble a nursing home environment. \u201cThat left us with only one choice. To fall ourselves,\u201d<\/em> he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n