Can technology reduce deaths from falls?
Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths among people 65 or older. They cost the US healthcare system over $50 billion a year. Now there's a flood of new tech designed to reduce the risk.
There’s no shortage of new research on the “sexier” part of achieving longevity, like cell regeneration and other nano-level techniques for delaying or even reversing the process of aging. I post many of these stories here. But with all the excitement about the cutting edge, we shouldn’t lose sight of the more humble or everyday forces that inhibit longevity.
Falling is one of them.
As I learned from Lori Orlov’s invaluable blog, the death rates from falls are “startling” — and technology can help. As she reports here, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths among the 65+ population, with medical costs from falls estimated at more than $50 billion a year.
Obviously anything that can reduce the incidence of falls will have an immediate impact on health and longevity.
Is this a fertile field for technology?
Absolutely, Lori reports. Entrepreneurs are focusing on the “long lie time” (the amount of time someone who has fallen lies there before being discovered), and new tech-driven products and services are entering what is a growing market. The article highlights a few examples:
Origin Wireless uses wi-fi sensing, rather than wearables, to detect falls and issue prompt alerts
KamiCare offers a combination of camera and AI analysis, and is being marketed to seniors’ residences and nursing homes
VirtuSense tries to prevent falls from happening in the first place, through a combination of sensors and AI
SensorsCall requires neither cameras nor wearables, but combines sensors and AI to monitor motion, temperature. light and sound to deduce action (i.e., falls_ and alert caregivers
Vayyar Care uses advanced imaging radar to monitor rooms and alerts Alexa is there is a fall; Alexa then calls for emergency response and alerts caregivers
SafelyYou, another service for managers of seniors residences, records the images and possible causes of the fall, enabling continued improvement in preventive measures
The article includes links to all these companies so you can find out more.
What’s so encouraging is that technology is being leveraged against a significant “here and now” problem and need, in ways that can have significant immediate benefits. No matter what we do with cellular-level research about slowing down or reversing aging, it’s clear than massive numbers of people are already living much longer, and that with such longevity comes an increased risk of weakening of bone and muscle, and, as a consequence, of falls. The possibility that wi-fi-led (as opposed to wearable) scanning can combine with AI to detect and respond to falls much more quickly — and even anticipate those falls — is very exciting, and I will now be keeping and eye on those companies and on ongoing developments in this space.