Project

Development and Applications of Daily-use Fall Risk Assessment Device to Prevent Elderly People from Falling

Project Introduction

Developing a daily-use device to measure elderly dynamic balancing ability

Objectives:

Develop algorithms that use AI to assess the risk of falling for older people based on the balancing sensor measurements.
Develop the software and user interface for the falling risk assessment device.
Integrate the sensor hardware and the software for the falling risk assessment device.
Test and evaluate the device for applications in primary care clinics and elderly care centers in Hong Kong.
Promote the falling risk assessment device by assisting and supporting the applications in primary care clinics and elderly care facilities in Hong Kong.

Project Period: July 2022 to June 2024
This project is funded by Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living

Team Members

Prof. Xi, Ning

Project Coordinator

Lead the development of the hardware and software of the balance sensor and manage the project

Prof. Lou, Vivian Weiqun

Deputy Project Coordinator

Lead the application and promotion of the sensor and fall assessment

Dr. Yuen, Jacqueline Kwan Yuk

Co-Project Investigator

Lead the clinical application and promotion of the sensor and fall assessment

Prof. Lam, Cindy Lo Kuen, MH, JP

Co-Project Investigator

Lead the medical evaluation and verification of the sensor and fall assessment method

Partnership

1. Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service

Publicity in community and community test for community dweller fall risk assessment

2. Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

Publicity in community and community test for community dweller fall risk assessment

Product Introduction

The balance sensor is a device for assessing the risk of falling for older adults. By stepping on it and standing still for a couple of minutes, the dynamic force distributions on the person’s feet will be measured.

Balance sensor prototype

Measurement of balance on the sensor

For more details, please go to the Instructions for the Balance Sensor

Individual Report with Balance Sensor

Participants can see how much their fall risk is according to the blue trace in our report.

According to our experimental data, the more the trajectory is concentrated towards the center of the circle, the better the balance ability is; otherwise, the worse it is.

A trajectory beyond the red circle represents a greater risk of falling.

Community Engagement

We conduct several publicity in the community and assess balance and fall risk among community dwellers.

Public Talk on 26 September 2022 AKA

Public Talk on 17 March 2023 YWCA

We joined The 8th Golden Age Expo and Summit (2023) to showcase the balance sensor and conducted public balance ability screening.

GAES on 11-13 August 2023

1. Poster for Experiment

2. Contact Information

香港大學秀圃老年研究中心
Sau Po Centre on Aging
The University of Hong Kong

Tel: 5105-0003

Email: ageing@hku.hk