Fall Detection Sensor

A fall detection sensor is designed to help reduce the risk of falling and its detrimental effects. The device senses a sudden downward acceleration and triggers an alarm to contact a monitoring center or loved one for assistance.

The device also tracks and records the participant's location and activity using a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. All this data is logged on a web portal for real-time online notifications.

Two-Way Communication

During this phase, obtained signals/data are analysed and preliminary decisions about whether there was a fall event or not are made. Most SP-based solutions employ threshold-based algorithms in this phase, because they are less complex and thus require lower computational power, which helps to reduce battery power consumption.

Various features are extracted from raw data from accelerometer and gyroscope in order to detect a fall. personal alarms AU The resulting feature sets are used by classifiers (e.g. boosted decision tree algorithms) on the device and in the Cloud.

These classifiers analyze the differences between the data of a suspected fall and the data of normal movement. In addition, they check if a sensor is already triggered by another event. Depending on the outcome of this process, additional classes are generated, which result in a more accurate classification.

GPS Tracking

Many medical alert devices use GPS tracking technology to notify emergency responders or designated contacts when they detect a fall. This helps family members or caregivers quickly determine where the individual is and if they are in danger.

During 2070 days of data collection, the device analyzed 14,904,000 sensor events (five-second intervals of acceleration and gyroscope signals). The system detected 27 of 37 true falls, with sensitivity of 73%. In the other cases, the phone did not record sufficient accelerometer samples or a sufficiently fast peak acceleration to identify a fall.

If the fall detection sensor does detect a fall, it will text up to three emergency contacts and provide a GPS map of your loved one’s location. Then, if they press the SOS button on their device they can be connected to a live agent for a two-way conversation that provides reassurance and ensures help is on its way. The device will also send an audible alert or vibration.

Daily Medication Reminders

Some medical alert systems come with daily medication reminders as an added bonus. These features can help seniors avoid missing doses of their prescription medications, which can lead to dangerous side effects.

Most medical alert system brands offer daily medication reminders, but some don’t include them in their base price or charge an additional fee for them. For example, Bay Alarm Medical offers this feature as an add-on for $10 per month in addition to the standard monthly monitoring fee.

While most medical alert systems are associated with senior care, aging adults of any age can benefit from their services. These devices can be particularly helpful for people who live alone or have mobility issues, who take certain medications that increase their risk of falls (like sedatives), or for those who have a history of falling or chronic health conditions like arthritis. Many medical alert systems also offer a risk-free trial and no contract, so that you can try them out before committing to a plan.

Alerts

Falls can be scary for anyone, but they’re particularly dangerous for seniors, who are more likely to hurt themselves if they fall. And while some falls cause minor bumps and bruises, other fall-related injuries can be severe, potentially requiring hospitalization.

In the Purple Robot study, if a participant fell, the device would display an alert on their mobile phone screen and send a notification to a member of their caregiver team. Then, a research representative would contact participants or their designated caregiver within the same or next business day to verify the fall and gather details on their condition.

Medical Guardian offers a variety of medical alert systems, including landline and cellular at-home and on-the-go options with automatic fall detection. Their pricing is competitive, and their packages include free monitoring for spouses or roommates—a feature that earned them a spot on our top five list. You can also add a separate fall detection sensor and extra wall buttons for an additional cost.